Where does “Maya” come from?

Maya comes from Spanish mayar, which derives from Yucatec Maya maya', a term of unknown original meaning.

Maya (English): A member or descendant of various peoples

Definitions

  1. A member or descendant of various peoples

Ancestry of “Maya”, step by step

Maya traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.

via English Maia

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishMaiaDaughter of Atlas and mother of Hermes
2LatinMaianominative feminine singular of Maius; nominative...
3Ancient Greekμαῖαmidwife; foster mother, nurse; good mother, dame
4Ancient Greekμήτηρmother; source or origin
5Proto-Hellenicmā́tērmother
6Proto-Indo-Europeanméh₂tērmother

via Pali Māyā

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1PaliMāyāfraud
2Sanskritमायाart, wisdom, inhuman or supernatural power;...
3Sanskritमाdon't; accusative singular of अहम्; to sound,...
4Proto-IranianmáH—
5Proto-Indo-IranianmaHdo not; prohibitive particle
6Proto-Indo-Europeanmeh₁prohibitive particle

via Spanish maya

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1SpanishmayaMayan
2Yucatec Mayamayab—
3Yucatec Mayamaya'—

Words derived from “Maya”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European méh₂tēr →