Mayan

American  

[mah-yuhn] / ˈmɑ yən /

adjective

1. of or relating to the Maya, their culture, or their languages.

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noun

1. a member of the Mayan tribe.

2. a group of languages spoken by the Mayas Maya in southern Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize, including Yucatec, Quiché, and Huastec.

Mayan British  

/ ˈmaɪən /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of the Maya or any of their languages

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noun

1. a family of Central American Indian languages, including Maya, possibly a member of the Penutian phylum

2. another name for a Maya 2

Other Word Forms

• pseudo-Mayan adjective

Etymology

Origin of Mayan

First recorded in 1885–90; May(a) + -an

Example Sentences

Plan Kukulkan, named after the serpent deity of the Mayan civilization, covers the host cities as well as nearby tourist destinations.

From Barron's

A gifted linguist, she soon mastered Mayan dialects.

From Los Angeles Times

From precolonial Mexico we discover obsidian mirrors used for divination in Mayan and Aztec ceremonies.

From The Wall Street Journal

Concert hall the Mayan, which opened in 1927, closed after 35 years in its current incarnation.

From Los Angeles Times

And in the last year, two historic venues, the Conga Room and the Mayan, closed permanently.

From Los Angeles Times