/mah"yeuh/ , n. , pl. Mayas , ( esp. collectively ) Maya , adj.
n.
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.
adj.
4. Mayan.