Mayan
Americanadjective
noun
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a member of the Mayan tribe.
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a group of languages spoken by the Mayas in southern Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize, including Yucatec, Quiché, and Huastec.
adjective
noun
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a family of Central American Indian languages, including Maya, possibly a member of the Penutian phylum
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another name for a Maya 2
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of Mayan
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The venue has grown larger and bolder with each year, beginning at the Mayan Theater in 2023.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2026
Once-common literary references to Shakespeare or Dickens have now become as obscure in the common culture as so many Mayan inscriptions.
From Salon ● Apr. 19, 2026
Why does the Mayan world remain so alien, notwithstanding the extraordinary work of Mr. Stuart and his peers?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 20, 2026
Plan Kukulkan, named after the serpent deity of the Mayan civilization, covers the host cities as well as nearby tourist destinations.
From Barron's ● Mar. 6, 2026
In fact, the cultivation of corn was at the core of Mayan culture.
From "An Indigenous People’s History of the United States" by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
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Chocolate itself first began as Xocolatl, or “bitter water,” a spiced drink made from ground cacao beans, chiles and spices that originated with the Aztecs and Mayans.
From Salon ● Feb. 17, 2025
Her research spanned “thousands of years of history” as she drew inspiration from cultures including the Roman and Byzantine Empires and the Mayans.
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2024
Red has been used to adorn the body in many cultures, including the ancient Egyptians, Mayans, Roman generals and during the Renaissance.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 7, 2024
A whole network of Konstanz researchers dedicated themselves to unravelling the mystery, including Bernhard Schink, Nicolai Müller, David Schleheck, Jennifer Fleming and Olga Mayans.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 10, 2023
The end of their political power in the region did not mean the end of the Mayans themselves.
From "An Indigenous People’s History of the United States" by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.