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• maya
  maya

  noun

  the power, as of a god, to produce illusions.
• Maya
  Maya

  noun

  a member of a major pre-Columbian civilization of the Yucatán Peninsula that reached its peak in the 9th century a.d. and produced magnificent ceremonial cities with pyramids, a sophisticated mathematical and calendar system, hieroglyphic writing, and fine sculpture, painting, and ceramics.

maya

¹ American  

[mah-yah, -yuh] / ˈmɑ jɑ, -jə /

noun

Hinduism.

1. the power, as of a god, to produce illusions.

2. the production of an illusion.

3. (in Vedantic philosophy) the illusion of the reality of sensory experience and of the experienced qualities and attributes of oneself.

4. Also called Mahamaya. (initial capital letter) a goddess personifying the power that creates phenomena.

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Maya ² American  

[mah-yuh] / ˈmɑ jə /

noun

• Mayas,
  plural
• Maya
  plural

1. a member of a major pre-Columbian civilization of the Yucatán Peninsula that reached its peak in the 9th century a.d. and produced magnificent ceremonial cities with pyramids, a sophisticated mathematical and calendar system, hieroglyphic writing, and fine sculpture, painting, and ceramics.

2. a member of a modern Indigenous people of southern Mexico, Guatemala, and parts of Honduras who are the descendants of this ancient civilization.

3. any of the Mayan languages; the historical and modern languages of the Maya.

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adjective

1. Mayan.

Maya ¹ British  

/ ˈmaɪə /

noun

1. Also called: Mayan. a member of an American Indian people of Yucatan, Belize, and N Guatemala, having an ancient culture once characterized by outstanding achievements in architecture, astronomy, chronology, painting, and pottery

2. the language of this people See also Mayan

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Maya ² British  

/ ˈmɑːjə, ˈmɑːjɑː, ˈmaɪə /

noun

1. the Hindu goddess of illusion, the personification of the idea that the material world is illusory

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maya ³ British  

/ ˈmɑːjə, ˈmaɪə, ˈmɑːjɑː /

noun

1. Hinduism illusion, esp the material world of the senses regarded as illusory

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• Mayan
  adjective
• mayan
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• Maya
  plural
• Mayas
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of maya¹

Borrowed into English from Sanskrit around 1815–25

Origin of Maya²

First recorded in 1810–20; from Spanish, from Yucatec Maya mayab “flat,” a self-designation

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

maya Maya Mayas

Covid was the great equalizer — it was impossible to stay detached, to maintain maya hata s krau.

From New York Times ● Mar. 30, 2022

Between the gods and mortal men and women there hung a veil, and its name was maya.

From The New Yorker ● Jul. 22, 2019

Hinduism itself stresses the pervasive power of maya or illusion.

From Washington Post ● Oct. 17, 2018

Her apparent dread of mortality and her obsession with dignified dying were at odds with Hindu concepts of reincarnation and death as a hoped-for release from maya, the illusory reality of worldly existence.

From Time Magazine Archive

That goal is the attainment of that beatific state in which is revealed to the soul and the mind, the real and the unreal; the eternal substance of truth, and the shifting kaleidoscope of maya.

From Cosmic Consciousness by Alexander J. (Alexander James) McIvor-Tyndall

After breakfast, James B, who has been pretty consistently wrong with his theories throughout the series, continued his fine form, saying of Maya and Kenny: "I think they are the two most innocent."

From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2026

Maya Khosla, a wildlife biologist for hire and filmmaker and poet between gigs, was getting on-the-job training in a new role: detective.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2026

Maya Angelou said, people may not remember what you did, what you said, but they will always remember how you make them feel.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026

They had little choice about their potential victims - in the end it was Jerry Hall and Ross Kemp who wandered in to join Maya and James A in deliberately tedious conversation.

From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026

Then she reads Maya Angelou’s whole poem out loud.

From "A Good Kind of Trouble" by Lisa Moore Ramée

The officers looked around the area, including inside the nearby Mayas Cinemas, and realized the yelling was coming from inside the wall between the coffee shop and the theater, police said.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 19, 2026

Tamales date to pre-Hispanic times when Olmecs, Mexicas and Mayas prepared them for religious rituals, offerings and even placed them in tombs.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 30, 2023

“Some people say it will bring great benefits, but for us Mayas that work the land, that live here, we don’t see any benefits.”

From Washington Post ● Sep. 7, 2022

They talk about the bond between the Mayas and the bees, who provided them with honey for medicinal purposes while the Mayas protected and cared for them, a tradition they continue to uphold today.

From Slate ● Nov. 5, 2018

She spoke of the ancient medicines of other tribes, the Aztecas, Mayas, and even of those in the old, old country, the Moors.

From "Bless Me, Ultima" by Rudolfo Anaya

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