Mayan

[ mah-yuh n ]

/ ˈmɑ yən /

adjective

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

noun

a member of the Mayan tribe.

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

Content related to Mayan

Cyclone, Typhoon, Hurricane: Are They All The Same?Hurricane travels a convoluted road through the Spanish furacão, back to the Mayan god Huracan, a deity of storms and fire.

Origin of Mayan

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

OTHER WORDS FROM Mayan

pseu·do-Ma·yan, adjective, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for mayan

Los Angeles was wonderfully exotic; a polyglot mix of Aztec, Incan, Mayan and New World scents and sounds.
The Liberal Case Against Illegal Immigration|Doug McIntyre|November 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
While chipping away plaster from his kitchen wall, the Guatemalan man unearthed a series of centuries-old Mayan murals.
7 Historically Significant Artifacts Rescued by Happenstance|The Daily Beast|October 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
One depicts a procession of figures wearing both Mayan and Spanish garb, some holding what appear to be human hearts.
7 Historically Significant Artifacts Rescued by Happenstance|The Daily Beast|October 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
One of the largest sites of pre-Columbian Mayan ruins, Tikal was once one of the most important cities in the Mayan world.
There Are Bugs in Your Coffee and Other Things I Learned in Antigua, Guatemala|William O’Connor|January 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Paradise Island is now home to Vegas-style casino resorts and the Aquaventure Waterpark, with its mammoth Mayan Temple waterslide.
Catch Beatles Fever! Ten Essential Travel Destinations for Beatlemaniacs|Lonely Planet|January 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Aztec deities were, for the most part, substituted for the Mayan gods.
The American Egypt|Channing Arnold
A windmill spins behind a carved Mayan head perched on the roof line.
The Haciendas of Mexico|Paul Alexander Bartlett
By Mr. Holder's method we could demonstrate that we're Mayan—if that should be a source of pride to us.
The Book of the Damned|Charles Fort
We have proved that students of the Mayan problem need waste no time in expeditions to the north-east.
The American Egypt|Channing Arnold
Again, Mr. Maudslay noticed a detail of Mayan decoration which has escaped other students.
The American Egypt|Channing Arnold

British Dictionary definitions for mayan

Mayan

/ (ˈmaɪən) /

adjective

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

noun

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

another name for a Maya 2

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012