pl.Maya or Mayas a member of an American Indian people found in Yucatán, Belize, and N Guatemala: the Maya had a highly developed civilization long before the arrival of Europeans early in the 16th cent.
the Mayan language of this people
Origin:
Sp < native name
adjective
of the Maya or their language or culture; Mayan
noun
Hinduism the goddess Devi, or Shakti, consort of Siva
in Hinduism and Indian philosophy, the illusory world of the senses
Origin:
Sans māyā
See Maya in American Heritage Dictionary 4
noun Hinduism
The power of a god or demon to transform a concept into an element of the sensible world.
The transitory, manifold appearance of the sensible world, which obscures the undifferentiated spiritual reality from which it originates; the illusory appearance of the sensible world.
a. A member of a Mesoamerican Indian people inhabiting southeast Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize, whose civilization reached its height around A.D. 300-900. The Maya are noted for their architecture and city planning, their mathematics and calendar, and their hieroglyphic writing system.
b. A modern-day descendant of this people.
Any of the Mayan languages, especially Quiché and Yucatec.