Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
May
May
(mā)
, Verb.
[
imp.
Might
(mīt)
] [AS. pres.
maeg
I am able, pret. meahte
, mihte
; akin to D. mogen
, G. mögen
, OHG. mugan
, magan
, Icel. mega
, Goth. magan
, Russ. moche
. √103. Cf. Dismay
, Main
strength, Might
. The old imp. mought
is obsolete, except as a provincial word.] An auxiliary verb qualifying the meaning of another verb,
by expressing:
(a)
Ability, competency, or possibility; – now oftener expressed by
can
. How
Be won to spoil the castle of his health!
may
a man, said he, with idle speech,Be won to spoil the castle of his health!
Spenser.
For what he [the king]
may
do is of two kinds; what he may
do as just, and what he may
do as possible. Bacon.
For of all sad words of tongue or pen
The saddest are these: “It
The saddest are these: “It
might
have been.” Whittier.
(b)
Liberty; permission; allowance.
Thou
mayst
be no longer steward. Luke xvi. 2.
(c)
Contingency or liability; possibility or probability.
Though what he learns he speaks, and
Some general maxims, or be right by chance.
may
advanceSome general maxims, or be right by chance.
Pope.
(d)
Modesty, courtesy, or concession, or a desire to soften a question or remark.
How old
may
Phillis be, you ask. Prior.
(e)
Desire or wish, as in prayer, imprecation, benediction, and the like.
“May you live happily.” Dryden.
May be
, and It may be
May
,Noun.
[Cf. Icel.
maer
, Goth. mawi
; akin to E. maiden
. √103.] A maiden.
[Obs.]
Chaucer.
May
,Noun.
[F.
Mai
, L. Maius
; so named in honor of the goddess Maia
(Gr. Μαῖα
), daughter of Atlas and mother of Mercury by Jupiter.] 1.
The fifth month of the year, containing thirty-one days.
Chaucer.
2.
The early part or springtime of life.
His
May
of youth, and bloom of lustihood. Shakespeare
3.
(Bot.)
The flowers of the hawthorn; – so called from their time of blossoming; also, the hawthorn.
The palm and
may
make country houses gay. Nash.
Plumes that mocked the
may
. Tennyson.
4.
The merrymaking of May Day.
Tennyson.
Italian may
(Bot.)
, a shrubby species of
– Spiraea
(Spiraea hypericifolia
) with many clusters of small white flowers along the slender branches. May apple
(Bot.)
, the fruit of an American plant (
– Podophyllum peltatum
). Also, the plant itself (popularly called mandrake
), which has two lobed leaves, and bears a single egg-shaped fruit at the forking. The root and leaves, used in medicine, are powerfully drastic. May beetle
,
May bug
(Zool.)
, any one of numerous species of large lamellicorn beetles that appear in the winged state in May. They belong to
– Melolontha
, and allied genera. Called also June beetle
. May Day
, the first day of May; – celebrated in the rustic parts of England by the crowning of a May queen with a garland, and by dancing about a May pole.
– May dew
, the morning dew of the first day of May, to which magical properties were attributed.
– May flower
(Bot.)
, a plant that flowers in May; also, its blossom. See
– Mayflower
, in the vocabulary. May fly
(Zool.)
, any species of
– Ephemera
, and allied genera; – so called because the mature flies of many species appear in May. See Ephemeral fly
, under Ephemeral
. May game
, any May-day sport.
– May lady
, the queen or lady of May, in old May games.
– May lily
(Bot.)
, the lily of the valley (
– Convallaria majalis
). May pole
. See
– Maypole
in the Vocabulary. May queen
, a girl or young woman crowned queen in the sports of May Day.
– May thorn
, the hawthorn.
Webster 1828 Edition
May
MAY
,Noun.
1.
The fifth month of the year, beginning with January, but the third, beginning with March, as was the ancient practice of the Romans.2.
A young woman.3.
The early part of life. His May of youth and bloom of lustihood.
MAY
,Verb.
I.
MAY
, verb aux; pret.might.1.
To be possible. We say, a thing may be, or may not be; an event may happen; a thing may be done, if means are not wanting.2.
To have physical power; to be able. Make the most of life you may.
3.
To have moral power; to have liberty, leave, license or permission; to be permitted; to be allowed. A man may do what the laws permit. He may do what is not against decency, propriety or good manners. We may not violate the laws, or the rules of good breeding. I told the servant he might be absent. Thou mayest be no longer steward. Luke 16.
4.
It is used in prayer and petitions to express desire. O may we never experience the evils we dread. So also in expressions of good will. May you live happily, and be a blessing to your country. It was formerly used for can, and its radical sense is the same.May be, it may be, are expressions equivalent to perhaps, by chance, peradventure, that is, it is possible to be.
Definition 2024
mãy
mãy
Old Portuguese
Noun
mãy f
- (hypocoristic, usually childish) mummy, mother
- 1525-1526, Cancioneiro da Biblioteca Nacional, Mem Rodrigues de Briteiros or João Fernandes de Ardeleiro, B 1330: Hun sangrador de Leirea (facsimile)
- Quen tal jogo que[r] jogar / Com ſa mãy uaa jogetar.
- If anyone wants to mock me / he can go mock his mummy!
- Quen tal jogo que[r] jogar / Com ſa mãy uaa jogetar.
- 1525-1526, Cancioneiro da Biblioteca Nacional, Mem Rodrigues de Briteiros or João Fernandes de Ardeleiro, B 1330: Hun sangrador de Leirea (facsimile)
Synonyms
Coordinate terms
Descendants
Portuguese
Noun
mãy f (plural mãys)
- Obsolete spelling of mãe
- 1545, Garcia de Resende, Liuro das obras de Garcia de Reſẽnde que trata da vida […] do christianiſſimo; muito alto ⁊ muyto poderoſo principe el Rey dõ João o ſegundo deſte nome, page 1:
- De ſeu pay ⁊ ſua mãy ⁊ ſeu nacimento.
- About his father and his mother and his birth.
- De ſeu pay ⁊ ſua mãy ⁊ ſeu nacimento.
- 1545, Garcia de Resende, Liuro das obras de Garcia de Reſẽnde que trata da vida […] do christianiſſimo; muito alto ⁊ muyto poderoſo principe el Rey dõ João o ſegundo deſte nome, page 1: