Etymograph

English

maya

Maya comes from Sanskrit माया ‘illusion, deception, trickery, demonic magic’, from मन् ‘to think, suppose’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *men-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*men-1‘think’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Iranianc. 2500–1800 BCE*man-1uncertain
  3. Proto-Indo-Aryanprehistoric (reconstructed)*man-1uncertain
  4. Sanskritc. 1500–500 BCEमन्2man‘to think, suppose’uncertain
  5. Sanskritc. 1500–500 BCEमा2mā‘measure, magic, binding, fettering’uncertain
  6. Sanskritc. 1500–500 BCEमाया3‘illusion, deception, trickery, demonic magic’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 2016maya3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Sanskrit मन्
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Sanskrit माया
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English maya
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2016, Sunil Khilnani, Incarnations: “Shankara prescribed meditative reflection, through which each individual could…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*men-Wiktionary, Sanskrit मन्‘think’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Iranianc. 2500–1800 BCE*man-Wiktionary, Sanskrit मन्uncertain
  3. Proto-Indo-Aryanprehistoric (reconstructed)*man-Wiktionary, Sanskrit मन्uncertain
  4. Sanskritc. 1500–500 BCEमन्Wiktionary, Sanskrit मायाman‘to think, suppose’uncertain
  5. Sanskritc. 1500–500 BCEमाWiktionary, Sanskrit मायाmā‘measure, magic, binding, fettering’uncertain
  6. Sanskritc. 1500–500 BCEमायाWiktionary, English maya‘illusion, deception, trickery, demonic magic’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 2016mayaWiktionary, English maya. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2016, Sunil Khilnani, Incarnations: “Shankara prescribed meditative reflection, through which each individual could…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *men- ‘think’

money, music, mind, amount, comment, mental, mouth, mention, mountain, museum, remain, monster, auto, mount, min, monitor, permanent, monetary, demonstration, mentor, monk, mint, monument, dementia, monte, imminent, monastery, amnesty, muse, mosaic, eminent, summon, menace, ming, prominence, mont, muster, monstrous, amnesia, remnant, 123 more

Today it means

noun Magic; supernatural power as held by the gods.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “maya”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Sanskrit मन्, Sanskrit माया. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *men- / maya

Shirt and support for this word