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# mayan

adjective (Mayan); noun (a Mayan, Mayans)

«mayan» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. To do with the Maya, the people of Central America (Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras) whose ancient civilisation built stone cities and pyramids. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mayan/#m1)
2. A Maya person; also the Mayan languages, which millions of people still speak today. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mayan/#m2)

### In the lessons

In history lessons «the ancient Maya» or «Mayan civilisation» (about 2000 BC to AD 1500 and later) is a common topic: pyramids such as Chichén Itzá, a writing system of glyphs, a calendar, maths with zero, and chocolate drinks made from cacao. In maths the Mayan number system uses dots (1), bars (5) and a shell for zero, and counts in twenties. Phrases: «Mayan calendar», «Mayan pyramid», «Mayan numbers», «Mayan gods».

### Examples

- The Mayan pyramid had steep steps up to a temple. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mayan/#x1)
- We wrote our ages in Mayan numbers using dots and bars. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mayan/#x2)
- Mayan people still live in Guatemala and speak Mayan languages. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mayan/#x3)
- The Mayan calendar was very accurate. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mayan/#x4)
- Ancient Mayan farmers grew maize, beans and squash. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mayan/#x5)
- A shell stood for zero in Mayan maths. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mayan/#x6)
- Some people claimed the Mayan calendar said the world would end, but it did not say that. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mayan/#x7)

### Note

Capital letter: Mayan, Maya. Experts often say «Maya» for the people and the ancient civilisation and «Mayan» for the languages, but both are common. Myth: the Mayan calendar did not predict the end of the world; a long cycle simply started again. Do not confuse with «Aztec» or «Inca», other American civilisations. In Mayan numbers a bar = 5, a dot = 1, and place values go up in twenties.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «mayan» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mayan/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«mayan» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/mayan.html) on Mova free.