Yucatán

noun

1. a peninsula in SE Mexico and N Central America comprising parts of SE Mexico, N Guatemala, and Belize.
2. a state in SE Mexico, in N Yucatán Peninsula. 14,868 sq. mi. (38,510 sq. km). Capital: Mérida.

noun

1. a state of SE Mexico, occupying the N part of the Yucatán peninsula. Capital: Mérida. Pop: 1 655 707 (2000). Area: 39 340 sq km (15 186 sq miles)
2. a peninsula of Central America between the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean, including the Mexican states of Campeche, Yucatán, and Quintana Roo, and part of Belize: a centre of Mayan civilization from about 100 bc to the 18th century. Area: about 181 300 sq km (70 000 sq miles)

said to be from a local word meaning “massacre.” Peninsula mostly in southeastern Mexico, separating the Caribbean Sea from the Gulf of Mexico.