maya

¹

[mah-yah, -yuh]

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.

Maya

²

[mah-yuh]

noun

plural

Mayas ,

plural

Maya .

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.

adjective

1. Mayan.

Maya

¹

/ 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

Maya

²

/ ˈmɑːjə, ˈmɑːjɑː, ˈmaɪə /

noun

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

maya

³

/ ˈmɑːjə, ˈmaɪə, ˈmɑːjɑː /

noun

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

Other Word Forms

• mayan adjective
• Mayan adjective

Word History and Origins

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of maya¹

C19: from Sanskrit

Example Sentences

Together, the Selva Maya, Moskitia, Indio Maíz-Tortuguero, La Amistad, and Darién form a continuous ecological corridor roughly the size of Virginia.

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Bringing these viewpoints to life is a galaxy of performers contributing voiceovers, including Tom Hanks, Michael Greyeyes, Meryl Streep, Morgan Freeman, Ethan and Maya Hawke, and, in a metatextual wink, Paul Giamatti voicing John Adams, a role he played alongside fellow castmate Laura Linney in HBO’s 2008 miniseries, “John Adams.”

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However, on TikTok, the girls were still quite quickly exposed to worrying content, mostly on the profile of 15-year-old Maya, who was repeatedly shown posts around bullying, children who had taken their own lives, people who were terminally ill, and stories of women and children who had been violently abused by men.

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The analyst cites the Philippine telecommunications company’s stable operating results, improving Maya Digital Bank operations and very attractive yield.

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Carpenter started out as a child actor on Disney Channel playing a recurring role as Maya Hart on the comedy series Girl Meets World.

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