*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of Maya

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”).

4 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 4 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
name

The Yucatec Maya language. · Quiché. · Mam. · Tzotzil.

noun

a flourishing Mesoamerican civilization that existed in and around Guatemala from the 3rd century to the 9th century. · various Mesoamerican peoples that continued in competing civilizations from the 10th century onward until conquered by Spain · various Mesoamerican peoples living in the Spanish Empire, and now parts of Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras · a variety of Mesoamerican peoples with farming from around 1000 BC onward, who developed a large civilization from the 3rd century onward

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

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”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Borrowed-form mentionmayaes
  • Derivation mentionmayabyua · flat
  • Derivation mentionmaayayua
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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      "name": "bor+",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "es",
        "3": "maya"
      },
      "expansion": "Borrowed from Spanish maya"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "yua",
        "3": "mayab",
        "t": "flat"
      },
      "expansion": "Yucatec Maya mayab (“flat”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "yua",
        "3": "maaya"
      },
      "expansion": "Yucatec Maya maaya"
    },
    {
      "name": "m+",
      "args": {
        "1": "fi",
        "2": "mayakulttuuri"
      },
      "expansion": "Finnish mayakulttuuri"
    },
    {
      "name": "m+",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "Mayakultur"
      },
      "expansion": "German Mayakultur"
    }
  ],
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    [
      "maya",
      "maya#Spanish"
    ],
    [
      "mayab",
      "mayab#Yucatec_Maya"
    ],
    [
      "maaya",
      "maaya#Yucatec_Maya"
    ],
    [
      "maya’",
      "maya’#Yucatec_Maya"
    ],
    [
      "maya’ wíinik",
      "maya’ wíinik#Yucatec_Maya"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
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      "glosses": [
        "The Yucatec Maya language.",
        "Quiché.",
        "Mam.",
        "Tzotzil."
      ],
      "tags": [],
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    },
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      "glosses": [
        "a flourishing Mesoamerican civilization that existed in and around Guatemala from the 3rd century to the 9th century.",
        "various Mesoamerican peoples that continued in competing civilizations from the 10th century onward until conquered by Spain",
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Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
name

A female given name · A female given name from Hebrew, of modern usage, variant of Maria, equivalent to English Mary · A female given name from Latin, variant of Maia, equivalent to English May · A female given name from Greek

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

* From Maria, ultimately from Hebrew, * From Maia, from Latin, from Ancient Greek Μαῖα (Maîa)

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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        "1": "en",
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        "3": "-"
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      "expansion": "Hebrew"
    },
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      "name": "uder",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin"
    },
    {
      "name": "uder",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "grc",
        "3": "Μαῖα"
      },
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    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "Maria",
      "Maria#English"
    ],
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      "Maia#English"
    ],
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      "Μαῖα",
      "Μαῖα#Ancient_Greek"
    ]
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Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗
name

In Sanskrit, illusion and the power that creates it; God's physical and metaphysical creation (literally, "not this"). · A female given name from Sanskrit used in India.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Transliteration of Sanskrit माया (māyā).

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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      "name": "translit",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "sa",
        "3": "माया"
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      "expansion": "Transliteration of Sanskrit माया (māyā)"
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  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "माया",
      "माया#Sanskrit"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
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Source etymology 4

Original entry ↗
name

The mother of Gautama Buddha.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Transliteration of Sanskrit माया (māyā́) or Pali Māyā.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
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        "1": "en",
        "2": "sa",
        "3": "माया",
        "tr": "māyā́"
      },
      "expansion": "Transliteration of Sanskrit माया (māyā́)"
    },
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        "2": "pi",
        "3": "Māyā",
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      "माया",
      "माया#Sanskrit"
    ],
    [
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      "Māyā#Pali"
    ]
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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for Maya →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-TWF5YQ