Maia

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A figure from Greek mythology known as the eldest of the Pleiades and mother of Hermes; a genus of crabs characterized by broad, flat bodies and long legs; a name used in various cultures as a feminine given name or a surname
2. In classical myth, a nymph who is one of the seven daughters of Atlas and mother of the messenger god; a category of marine crustaceans with distinctive carapace shapes; a personal name found in several languages
3. A mythological character celebrated as the gentle mother of a major deity; a biological grouping within the family of swimming crabs; an appellation commonly assigned to females in diverse cultural contexts

Etymology: Maia is the name of one of the Pleiades in Greek myth, the daughter of the Titan Atlas and the nymph Pleione, and she is best known as the mother of Hermes by Zeus. The Greek name is generally derived from a root meaning "mother" or "nurse," and it is also the source of the Latin name Maia, which the Romans linked to the goddess of growth and spring, giving the month of May its name. Because Maia is a proper name, it is the source of the English word for the month, and the name is applied in English to the star Maia, the brightest of the Pleiades cluster, as well as to the Maia genus of spider crabs. Hermes's mother thus survives in the sky above and in the seabed below.