mayhap
adv/ˈmeɪhæp/
Etymology From the phrase “it may hap”.
- I'm one that has spoken to a King, I am: mayhap you'll never see such another […]1871, Lewis Carroll, chapter VI, in Through the Looking-Glass:
- Then I heard the rush, the stamping and neighing, of some young mares, pasturing there, as they raced to and fro, bewildered or mayhap only in play.1895, Fiona Macleod, “The Sin-Eater”, in The Sin-Eater, The Washer of the Ford and Other Legendary Moralities, New York: Duffield & Co., page 12:
2 more examples
- "If you're after some money," said the millionaire, "move that cat out of the way." Catweazle shook his head. "Mayhap 'tis a fetch."1971, Richard Carpenter, Catweazle and the Magic Zodiac, Harmondsworth: Puffin Books, page 80:
- Who would not adore Mom and admire old Ma Pettigrew? There is one of each on your street, the younger mayhap heading for the tribulations already unmurmuringly borne by the older.1983, Peter De Vries, chapter 4, in Slouching Towards Kalamazoo, Boston: Little, Brown & Co., page 50:
- Derived terms
- mayhaps