may meaning (obsolete): definition, etymology and quotations

may

verb

US, UK /meɪ/ · UK /mɛj/

Etymology

From Middle English magen, mauen, mawe, mawen, mayen, maȝen, mouin, mow, mowen, moȝen, mugen, from Old English magan, from Proto-West Germanic *magan, from Proto-Germanic *maganą (“to be able, may”), from Proto-Indo-European *(me)mógʰe (“to be able”), from *megʰ- (“to be able”). Cognates Cognate with Scots mey (“may”), Yola ma, maa, mai, mey, mye (“may”), North Frisian mai, mei, mooge (“like to, would”), West Frisian meie (“may; to like”), Alemannic German möge (“may; can”), Bavarian megn (“to like; to want to”), Central Franconian mugge (“to like; may”), Cimbrian mögan, möng (“may”), Dutch mogen (“to be allowed; may; to like”), German and Low German mögen (“to like; would like; may”), Yiddish מעגן (megn, “may”), Danish måtte (“have to; may”), Faroese and Icelandic mega (“may; must”), Norwegian Bokmål måtta (“may; must”), Norwegian Nynorsk måtta, måtte (“may; must”), Swedish må (“may; must”), Gothic 𐌼𐌰𐌲𐌰𐌽 (magan, “to be able, can, may”); also Irish smacht (“ordinance, regulation, rule; dominion, sway; control, discipline, restraint; fine, penalty”), Lithuanian mėgti (“to like”), Belarusian магчы́ (mahčý, “to be able”), Bulgarian мо́га (móga, “to be able”), Czech moci (“to be able”), Kashubian mòc (“to be able”), Lower Sorbian moc, móc, moz (“to be able”), Macedonian може (može, “to be able”), Pannonian Rusyn мочи (moči, “to be able”), Polish móc (“to be able”), Russian мочь (močʹ, “to be able”), Serbo-Croatian мо̏ћи, mȍći (“to be able”), Slovak môcť (“to be able; be allowed to”), Slovene moči (“to be able”), Slovincian môc (“to be able”), Ukrainian могти́ (mohtý, “to be able”), Persian مغ (moġ, “magus”), Sanskrit मघ (magha, “power, wealth; bounty, gift, reward”).

8 senses

1To be strong; to have power (over).
2To be able; can.
3To be able to go.
4To have permission to, be allowed. Used in granting…
5Expressing a present possibility; possibly.
6Expressing a disjunctive or contrastive relation between…
7Expressing a wish (with present subjunctive effect).
8Used in modesty, courtesy, or concession, or to soften a…

No past participle, No present participle, Obsolete To be strong; to have power (over).

No past participle, No present participle, Obsolete To be able; can.

But many times[…]we give way to passions we may resist and will not.1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC, partition II, section 3, member 6:

No past participle, No present participle, Poetic To be able to go.

O weary night, O long and tedious night, Abate thy houres, shine comforts from the East, That I may backe to Athens by day-light […].1600, William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream, III.3:

Defective, Modal, No past participle, No present participle To have permission to, be allowed. Used in granting permission and in questions to make polite requests.

you may smoke outside
may I sit there?

› Granting the admissibility of a supposition…

Defective, Modal, No past participle, No present participle Expressing a present possibility; possibly.

he may be lying
Schrödinger's cat may or may not be in the box.

3 more examples

Sam may be intelligent, but he isn't wise. [This speaker does not know with certainty whether Sam is intelligent, but the speaker allows the possibility.]
A female crocodile may lay up to forty eggs. [Typical occurrence.]
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.2011 October 1, Phil Dawkes, “Sunderland 2-2 West Brom”, in BBC Sport:

Defective, Modal, No past participle, No present participle Expressing a disjunctive or contrastive relation between indicative statements.

You may be my boss, but that doesn't mean you can insult me.
A: Sigh. I'm bummed that Stephen Hawking died. B: Well, he may have died, but he's still alive in our hearts. [This speaker does not doubt that Stephen has died; nonetheless, the verb inflection is not different.]

1 more example

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.2013 July 6, “The rise of smart beta”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8843, page 68:

Defective, No past participle, No present participle, Poetic, Present, Subjunctive Expressing a wish (with present subjunctive effect).

may you win; may the weather be sunny; long may your reign last
Let us pray that peace may soon return to our war-torn homeland.

2 more examples

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 young1974, Bob Dylan, “Forever Young”, in Planet Waves:
May I never miss the thrill of being near you1984, “No More Lonely Nights”, performed by Paul McCartney:

Defective, Modal, No past participle, No present participle Used in modesty, courtesy, or concession, or to soften a question or remark.

How old may Phillis be, you ask, / Whose Beauty thus all Hearts engages.1744 [1720], Matthew Prior, “Phillis's age”, in Joe Miller's Jests, 7th edition:

Derived terms: 69 terms
a cat may look at a king, as luck may have it, as the case may be, be it as it may, be that as it may, be this as it may, come what may, devil-may-care, formay, gods may do what cattle may not, hold come what may, if I may, if I may be so bold, if I may make so bold, if I may say so, I hope I may be shot, I may not but, it may well with, may well with, I wish I may be shot, lang may yer lum reek, let the chips fall where they may, let the dice fall where they may, mappen, may as well, maybe, may chance, may-fall, may-fortune, may God be my witness, may God have mercy on your soul, mayhap, mayhappen, may I?, may I help you, may I pass through, may-issue, mayn't, may-pole, may the 4th be with you, may the Force be without you, may the Force be with you, may the force be with you, may the Force not be with you, may the fourth be with you, may the Fourth be with you, may the odds be ever in your favor, may well, may you live in interesting times, mother may I, much good may it do someone, one may as well hang for a sheep as a lamb, pigs may fly, sticks and stones may break my bones, that is as may be, that's as may be, the fox may grow grey but never good, there may be snow on the mountaintop but there's fire in the valley, there may be snow on the rooftop but there is fire in the furnace, the wolf may lose his teeth but never his nature, those who will not when they may, when they will they shall have nay, to those it may concern, to whom it may concern, to whom this may concern, try as one may, whatever the case may be, what-you-may-call-it, your mileage may differ, your mileage may vary

may

noun

Etymology From French mai, so called because it blossoms in the month of May.

The hawthorn bush or its blossoms.

The fire from Lindfield was coming down the grassy hillside to the right between the hedges of may.1973, Patsy Adam Smith, The Barcoo Salute, Adelaide: Rigby, page 43:

Derived terms: Italian may, mayhaw, may tree

may

verb

Etymology From French mai, so called because it blossoms in the month of May.

Poetic To gather may, or flowers in general.

Soo it befelle in the moneth of May / quene Gueneuer called vnto her knyȝtes of the table round / and she gafe them warnynge that erly vpon the morowe she wold ryde on mayeng in to woodes & feldes besyde westmynstre. "So it befell in the month of May, Queen Guenever called unto her knights of the Table Round; and she gave them warning that early upon the morrow she would ride a-Maying into woods and fields beside Westminster."1485, Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur Book XIX, Chapter i leaf 386v:
In valleys green and still / Where lovers wander maying1922, A. E. Housman, Last Poems, VII, lines 1-2:

Poetic To celebrate May Day.

may

noun

Etymology From Middle English may, maye (“woman, maid, girl, virgin”), from Old English mǣġ (“kinswoman”), from Proto-West Germanic *māg, from Proto-Germanic *mēgaz (“kinsman”). Related to Old English māge, mǣġe (“kinswoman”) and Old English mǣġ (“kinsman”).

Archaic A maiden.

Derived terms: shield-may
Related terms: may-woon