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is obsolete, except as a provincial word.]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
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
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
may
advance
Some 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
,
are used as equivalent to
possibly
,
perhaps
,
maybe
,
by chance
,
peradventure
. See 1st
Maybe
.

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.
[L. Maius.]
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.
To gather flowers in May-morning.

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

May

May

See also: may, mAy, máy, maý, mày, mấy, mây, and mãy

English

Alternative forms

  • (female given name): Mae

Proper noun

May ‎(plural Mays)

  1. The fifth month of the Gregorian calendar, following April and preceding June.
  2. The hawthorn or its blossoms (as it blooms in May)
  3. A female given name, pet name for Mary and Margaret, reinforced by the month and plant meaning.
    • 1856 E. D. E. N. Southworth, The Widow's Son, T. B. Peterson (1867), page 210:
      - - - I will not send Owen's Lily May to the almshouse." "Lily―what?" demanded Mrs. Morley rather sharply, for she was half provoked with what she mentally called Amy's whim of keeping the outcast child when she might send it to the asylum. "Lily May," said Amy, smiling. "Her name is Mary, and we called her first Little Mary, and then Little May. But Owen calls her Lily May."
    • 1982 Ruth Rendell, The Fever Tree and Other Stories, Hutchinson, ISBN 0091497302, page 119:
      Their parents named them June and May because their birthdays occurred in those months. - - - May was like the time of year in which she had been born, changeable, chilly and warm by turns, sullen yet able to know and show loveliness that couldn't last.
    • 2010 Margaret Forster, Isa & May, Chatto & Windus, ISBN 9780701184667, page 5:
      It's an awkward name: Isamay, pronounced Is-a-may. Isa is my paternal grandmother's name (shortened from Isabel) and May my maternal grandmother's (it comes, somehow, from Margaret). The amalgamation is, as you see, strictly alphabetical. Life, I feel, would have been much easier if they had chosen Maybel.
  4. A surname​.

Usage notes

  • May (or Mae) is often used in conjoined names (e.g., Lillie Mae, Katie Mae, Fannie Mae).

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

See also

Anagrams

Middle French

Noun

May m (plural Mays)

  1. May (month)

Norwegian

Etymology

From English May.

Proper noun

May

  1. A female given name.

Swedish

Etymology

From English May.

Proper noun

May

  1. A female given name.

may

may

See also: May, mAy, máy, maý, mày, mấy, mây, and mãy

English

Verb

may ‎(third-person singular simple present may, present participle -, simple past might, past participle - or (obsolete) mought)

  1. (obsolete, intransitive) To be strong; to have power (over). [8th-17th c.]
  2. (obsolete, auxiliary) To be able; can. [8th-17th c.]
  3. (intransitive, poetic) To be able to go. [from 9th c.]
  4. (modal auxiliary verb, defective) To have permission to, be allowed. Used in granting permission and in questions to make polite requests. [from 9th c.]
    you may smoke outside;  may I sit there?‎
  5. (modal auxiliary verb, defective) Expressing a present possibility; possibly. [from 13th c.]
    he may be lying;  Schrödinger's cat may or may not be in the box‎
    • 2011 October 1, Phil Dawkes, “Sunderland 2-2 West Brom”, in BBC Sport:
      The result may not quite give the Wearsiders a sweet ending to what has been a sour week, following allegations of sexual assault and drug possession against defender Titus Bramble, but it does at least demonstrate that their spirit remains strong in the face of adversity.
    • 2013 July 6, “The rise of smart beta”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8843, page 68:
      Investors face a quandary. Cash offers a return of virtually zero in many developed countries; government-bond yields may have risen in recent weeks but they are still unattractive. Equities have suffered two big bear markets since 2000 and are wobbling again. It is hardly surprising that pension funds, insurers and endowments are searching for new sources of return.
  6. (subjunctive present, defective) Expressing a wish (with present subjunctive effect). [from 16th c.]
    may you win;  may the weather be sunny‎
    • 1974, Bob Dylan (lyrics and music), “Forever Young”, in Planet Waves:
      May God bless and keep you always / May your wishes all come true / May you always do for others / And let others do for you / May you build a ladder to the stars / And climb on every rung / May you stay forever young
  7. Used in modesty, courtesy, or concession, or to soften a question or remark.
    • (Can we date this quote?), Prior, (Please provide the title of the work):
      How old may Phillis be, you ask.
Usage notes
  • May is now a defective verb. It has no infinitive, no past participle, and no future tense. Forms of to be allowed to are used to replace these missing tenses.
  • The simple past (both indicative and subjunctive) of may is might
  • The present tense is negated as may not, which can be contracted to mayn't, although this is old-fashioned; the simple past is negated as might not, which can be contracted to mightn't.
  • May has archaic second-person singular present indicative forms mayest and mayst.
  • Usage of this word in the sense of possibly is considered incorrect by some speakers and writers, as it blurs the meaning of the word in the sense have permission to. These speakers and writers prefer to use the word might instead.
  • Wishes are often cast in the imperative rather than the subjunctive mood, not using the word may, as in Have a great day! rather than May you have a great day.
Synonyms
Derived terms
Translations

See also

  • Appendix:English modal verbs
  • Appendix:English tag questions

Etymology 2

French mai, so called because it blossoms in May.

Noun

may ‎(plural mays)

  1. The hawthorn bush or its blossoms.
Derived terms
Translations

Verb

may ‎(third-person singular simple present mays, present participle maying, simple past and past participle mayed)

  1. To gather may.

Statistics

Most common English words before 1923: very · upon · man · #70: may · about · its · time

Anagrams

Azeri

Noun

may

  1. May

Crimean Tatar

Noun

may

  1. butter, oil

Declension

Synonyms

Kalasha

Determiner

may

  1. my

Pronoun

may

  1. me

Kurdish

Noun

may m

  1. intervention

Derived terms

  • mayê xwe tê dan
  • maytêder
  • maytêderî
  • maytêker
  • maytêkerî
  • mayê xwe tê kirin

Mapudungun

Adverb

may ‎(using Raguileo Alphabet)

  1. yes

References

  • Wixaleyiñ: Mapucezugun-wigkazugun pici hemvlcijka (Wixaleyiñ: Small Mapudungun-Spanish dictionary), Beretta, Marta; Cañumil, Dario; Cañumil, Tulio, 2008.

Quechua

Adverb

may

  1. where
  2. like, how, very

See also

Pronoun

may

  1. (interrogative pronoun) which

Verb

may

  1. (transitive) to fear

Conjugation

Tagalog

Verb

may

  1. there is

Tatar

Alternative forms

Noun

may

  1. May (Month of the Year)

Declension

See also

Uzbek

Noun

may ‎(plural maylar)

  1. May

Vietnamese

Pronunciation

Verb

may

  1. to sew

Derived terms

See also

Walloon

Etymology

From Old French mai, from Latin Māius.

Noun

may

  1. May (month)

Etymology

From Middle English, from Old English, from Old French mai, from Latin māius ‎(“Maia's month”), from Maia, a Roman earth goddess, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *magya ‎(“she who is great”), from Proto-Indo-European base *meg- ‎(“great”)

Pronunciation

  • enPR: mā, IPA(key): /meɪ/
  • Rhymes: -eɪ

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