mought

Inherited from Middle English moghte, from Old English muhte, late variant of meahte, mihte (“might”) due to the influence of the infinitive *mugan, itself an analogical remodelling of magan (“to be capable, to be able to”) after dugan (“to be useful”).

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /maʊt/
• Rhymes: -aʊt

mought

1. (obsolete outside dialects) Alternative form of might
   • 1881–1882, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island, London, Paris: Cassell & Company, published 14 November 1883, →OCLC:

     "I'm a plain man; rum and bacon and eggs is what I want, and that head up there for to watch ships off. What you mought call me? You mought call me captain..."

   • 1931, William Faulkner, Sanctuary, Vintage, published 1993, page 46:

     ‘Mought be a little in the barn. But dont let him hyear us, er he'll find hit and po hit out.’

2. (auxiliary, obsolete) past participle of may.
   • 1529, Sir Thomas More, A dyaloge of syr Thomas More knyghte: one of the counsayll of oure souerayne lorde the kyng & chauncellour of hys duchy of Lancaster. Wherin be treatyd dyuers maters, as of the veneration & Worshyp of ymagys & reliques, prayng to sayntys, & goyng on pylgrymage. Wyth many othere thyngys touchyng the pestylent sect of Luther and Tyndale, by the tone bygone in Saxony, and by tother laboryd to be brought in to Englond[1]:

     sythe I suppose in my selfe þ^t yf we had mought cõuenyẽtly cum to gether ye wold rather haue chosĩ to haue hard my mynde of myn owne mouth thã by þ^e mean of a nother

     (Modern Spelling) Since I suppose in myself that if we had mought conveniently come together you would rather have chosen to have heard my mind of mine own mouth than by the mean of another.

   • 1626, Francis Bacon, New Atlantis:

     [The king Solamona] did ordain, that of the strangers that should be permitted to land, as many (at all times) mought depart as would; but as many as would stay, should have very good conditions, and means to live from the State.

From Middle English moghte, from Old English muhte, rare variant of meahte, mihte (“might”).

• IPA^(key): /mɔːt/
• Homophone: mothe

mought

1. might
   • 1867, “CASTEALE CUDDE'S LAMENTATION”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 4, page 104:

     Hea pryet ich mought na ha chicke or hen,

     He prayed I might not have chicken nor hen,

• mye (“may”)

• Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828) William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867, page 57