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maia

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

Letters

4 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

Wiktionary

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Detailed reference entry for the English word "maia", 4-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "maia" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "maia" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

Maia is aEnglishname. It means: Daughter of Atlas and mother of Hermes. Pronounced /ˈmeɪ.ə/. Often confused with mi and may.

Key facts for Maia
PropertyValue
HeadwordMaia
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechName
IPA/ˈmeɪ.ə/
Letters4
Frequency rank#29,729
Misspellings tracked4
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of Maia in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for Maia is 4 letters long, classified as aname, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈmeɪ.ə/. Corpus data places it at rank #29,729 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it.Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 4 documented wrong-spelling variants for Maia, with forms such as "amia", "maai", and "miaa". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "mi", "may", "man", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Ancient Greek Μαῖα (Maîa). Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is Maia, spelled M-A-I-A, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    Daughter of Atlas and mother of Hermes.
  2. 2
    The goddess of growth after whom the month May (Latin maius) was named.
  3. 3
    A female given name from Latin of recent usage.
  4. 4
    A star in the constellation Taurus. It is the fourth brightest star in the Pleiades cluster.
  5. 5
    66 Maja, a main belt asteroid.

Etymology

From Ancient Greek Μαῖα (Maîa).

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: amia,maai,miaa,mmaia

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for Maia

Misspelling Variants of "Maia"

amia4maai4miaa4mmaia5
Misspelling Variants of "Maia"

Frequency rank: #29,729 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "Maia"?
"Maia" is spelled M-A-I-A. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈmeɪ.ə/.
What does "Maia" mean?
As a name, "Maia" means: Daughter of Atlas and mother of Hermes.
What words are commonly confused with "Maia"?
"Maia" is commonly confused with "mi", "may", "man". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Maia"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Maia" is /ˈmeɪ.ə/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "Maia"?
From Ancient Greek Μαῖα (Maîa). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter M in our English index:

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Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.