[mah-yah, -yuh] 
| 1. | the power, as of a god, to produce illusions. |
| 2. | the production of an illusion. |
| 3. | (in Vedantic philosophy) the illusion of the reality of sensory experience and of the experienced qualities and attributes of oneself. |
| 4. | (initial capital letter ) Also called Mahamaya. a goddess personifying the power that creates phenomena. |
[mah-yuh] noun, plural -yas, (especially collectively) -ya, adjective | 1. | a member of a major pre-Columbian civilization of the Yucatán Peninsula that reached its peak in the 9th century a.d. and produced magnificent ceremonial cities with pyramids, a sophisticated mathematical and calendar system, hieroglyphic writing, and fine sculpture, painting, and ceramics. |
| 2. | a member of a modern American Indian people of southern Mexico, Guatemala, and parts of Honduras who are the descendants of this ancient civilization. |
| 3. | any of the Mayan languages; the historical and modern languages of the Mayas. |
| 4. | Mayan. |
| ma·ya (mä'yə) n. Hinduism
[Sanskrit māyā.] |
| Ma·ya (mä'yə) n. pl. Maya or Ma·yas
[Spanish.] Ma'ya adj. |