Mayan

American  

[mah-yuhn] / ˈmɑ yən /

adjective

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

---

noun

1. a member of the Mayan tribe.

2. a group of languages spoken by the Mayas 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

---

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

Derived Forms

• pseudo-Mayan
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of Mayan

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

Example Sentences

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

New Mayan cities and communities—which were expected to have finite lifespans—emerged in proximity to abandoned places “that must have been understood as old yet still within historical memory.”

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

A gifted linguist, she soon mastered Mayan dialects.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 25, 2026

My face is mournftilly long, in the classical Indian manner; my profile suggests one of those beak-nosed Mayan sculptures— the eaglelike face upturned, open-mouthed, against the deserted, primitive sky.

From "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez