may

• enPR: mā, IPA^(key): /meɪ/

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• Rhymes: -eɪ

From Middle English mowen, mayen, moȝen, maȝen, from Old English magan, from Proto-West Germanic *magan, from Proto-Germanic *maganą, from Proto-Indo-European *megʰ-.

Cognate with Dutch mag (“may”, first and third-person singular of mogen (“to be able to, be allowed to, may”)), Low German mögen, German mag (“like”, first and third-person singular of mögen (“to like, want, require”)), Swedish må, Icelandic mega, megum. See also might.

• (obsolete) maye

may (third-person singular simple present may, no present participle, simple past might, no past participle)

1. (obsolete, intransitive) To be strong; to have power (over). [8th–17th c.]
2. (obsolete, auxiliary) To be able; can. [8th–17th c.]
   • 1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Printed by John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC, partition II, section 3, member 6:

     But many times […] we give way to passions we may resist and will not.

3. (intransitive, poetic) To be able to go. [from 9th c.]
   • 1600, William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream, III.3:

     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 […].

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.]

   Synonyms: can, could, might

   you may smoke outside;  may I sit there?

5. (modal auxiliary verb, defective) Expressing a present possibility; possibly. [from 13th c.]

   Synonyms: could, might

   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, chiefly poetic) Expressing a wish (with present subjunctive effect). [from 16th c.]

   Synonym: might

   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

   • 1984, “No More Lonely Nights”, performed by Paul McCartney:

     May I never miss the thrill of being near you

7. Used in modesty, courtesy, or concession, or to soften a question or remark.
   • 1744 [1720], Matthew Prior, “Phillis's age”, in Joe Miller's Jests‎, 7th edition:

     How old may Phillis be, you ask, / Whose Beauty thus all Hearts engages.

• 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 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.
• Conversely, since may not is particularly likely to promote confusion between the senses of "will possibly not" and "is forbidden to," some rules for the drafting of laws and regulations proscribe "may not" and require the use of "must not" or similar for clarity. Example:
• 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. The use of may for this purpose may lend a more formal, literary, or solemn feeling (perhaps jocularly so) to the wish. Moreover, wishes in the subjunctive need not use may if the meaning is clear without it, which is the case mainly for established expressions in the third-person singular such as God help you.

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

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

may (uncountable)

1. The hawthorn bush or its blossoms.

• Italian may
• mayhaw

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

1. (poetic, intransitive) To gather may, or flowers in general.
   • 1485, Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur Book XIX, Chapter i leaf 386v:

     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."

   • 1922, A. E. Housman, Last Poems, VII, lines 1-2:

     In valleys green and still / Where lovers wander maying

2. (poetic, intransitive) To celebrate May Day.

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”).

may (plural mays)

1. (archaic) A maiden.

• Amy, MYA, Mya, Yam, mya, yam

Borrowed from Russian май (maj).

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may (definite accusative mayı, plural maylar)

1. (North Azerbaijani) May

   Synonym: (South Azerbaijani) مه (mə)

• (Gregorian calendar months) ay; yanvar, fevral, mart, aprel, may, iyun, iyul, avqust, sentyabr, oktyabr, noyabr, dekabr ^{(Category: az:Months)}

may

1. there is
2. to have

• igwa

• mayo
• wara

may

1. butter, oil

• yağ

may

1. my

may

1. me

may (Raguileo spelling)

1. yes

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

may m

1. intervention

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

From Proto-Katuic *maj, from Proto-Mon-Khmer *mi[i]ʔ.

• IPA^(key): [maj]

may

1. you (second person singular pronoun)

may

1. where
2. like, how, very

• maykama
• mayman
• maymanta
• maypi

• may may

may

1. (interrogative pronoun) which

may

1. (transitive) to fear

• mey, me — nonstandard

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /maj/ [maɪ̯]
  • Rhymes: -aj
  • Syllabification: may
• (colloquial) IPA^(key): /ˈme/ [ˈmɛ]
• (Batangas) IPA^(key): /ˈmej/ [ˈmɛɪ̯]
  • Rhymes: -ej

may (Baybayin spelling ᜋᜌ᜔)

1. particle used as an existential marker: to be; to have

   Synonyms: mayroon, meron

   Antonym: wala

   May tubig sa bahay.

   There is water in the house.

   May pagkain ako rito, sa'yo na lang.

   I have food here, have it.

• May is used immediately before the thing possessed or existing, whereas mayroon can be separated by enclitics (e.g. lang, kaya, and ako). Sentences like *may ako pagkain would be ungrammatical.

• may-

may (Baybayin spelling ᜋᜌ᜔)

1. used after sa: by; around; near

   Kunin mo ang araro doon sa may puno ng mangga.

   Get the shovel by the mango tree.

   (literally, “Get the shovel at the place with the mango tree.”)

• “may”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, Manila, 2018

Cognate with Persian مادر (mâdar).

may

1. mother

• май (may)

may

1. May (Month of the Year)

• Previous: äpril. * Next: yün

From Russian май (maj), from Latin māius.

may (plural maylar)

1. May

• (Gregorian calendar months) oy; yanvar, fevral, mart, aprel, may, iyun, iyul, avgust, sentabr, oktabr, noyabr, dekabr ^{(Category: uz:Months)}

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [maj˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [maj˧˧]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [ma(ː)j˧˧]

Cognate with Muong băl.

may • (𦁼, 埋, 枚)

1. to sew

• khâu

may • (𢆧, 埋, 𱜿, 𱝁, 枚, 𠶣)

1. lucky

   Synonym: hên

may • (埋, 枚)

1. (now rarely in isolation) a cold breeze

From Old French mai, from Latin Māius.

• IPA^(key): /maj/

may

1. May (month)

• (Gregorian calendar months) djanvî, fevrî, måss, avri, may, djun, djulete, awousse, setimbe, octôbe, nôvimbe, decimbe ^{(Category: wa:Months)}