Link Centre Dictionary

Maya

UK/ˈmaɪə/ US/maɪ.ə/ common

noun

1.

a member of an American Indian people of Yucatan and Belize and Guatemala who had a culture (which reached its peak between AD 300 and 900) characterized by outstanding architecture and pottery and astronomy

  • “Mayans had a system of writing and an accurate calendar”
Synonyms
2.

an ethnic minority speaking Mayan languages and living in Yucatan and adjacent areas

3.

a family of American Indian languages spoken by Mayan peoples

Synonyms

Origin

Borrowed from Spanish maya, from Yucatec Maya mayab (“flat”) or Yucatec Maya maaya, a self-designation of the northern Maya for themselves, in the form maya’ found in compounds and phrases e.g. maya’ wíinik (“Maya man”).

Phrases

  • maya bird

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

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Parts

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.