may

• enPR: mā, IPA^(key): /meɪ/

• Audio (US):

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• Rhymes: -eɪ
• Homophones: May, Mei

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: […] 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 […].

5. (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?

7. (modal auxiliary verb, defective) Granting the admissibility of a supposition, in a way that can be semantically either subjunctive or indicative.
   2. (modal auxiliary verb, defective) Expressing a present possibility; possibly. [from 13th c.]

      Synonyms: could, might

      Do you think he may be lying?;   Schrödinger's cat may or may not be in the box

      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 fourty eggs. [Typical occurrence.]

      • 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.

   4. (modal auxiliary verb, defective) Expressing a disjunctive or contrastive relation between indicative statements.

      Synonym: might

      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.]

      • 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.

8. (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;  long may your reign last

   Let us pray that peace may soon return to our war-torn homeland.

   • 1974, Bob Dylan, “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

9. (modal auxiliary verb, defective) 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^[1], 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: [2]
• 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

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

may (uncountable)

1. The hawthorn bush or its blossoms.
   • 1973, Patsy Adam Smith, The Barcoo Salute, Adelaide: Rigby, page 43:

     The fire from Lindfield was coming down the grassy hillside to the right between the hedges of may.

• Italian may
• mayhaw
• may tree

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.

• shield-may

• may-woon

• Amy, MYA, Mya, Yam, mya, yam

Borrowed from Russian май (maj).

• Audio:

  (file)

may (definite accusative mayı, plural maylar)

1. (North Azerbaijani) May

   Synonym: (South Azerbaijani) مه (mə)

may

1. there is
2. to have

• igwa

• mayo
• wara

From Proto-Central Philippine *may (existential marker).

• IPA^(key): /ˈmaj/ [ˈmaɪ̯]
• Hyphenation: may

may (Badlit spelling ᜋᜌ᜔)

1. particle used as an existential marker: there be; there is

   Synonyms: anaa, aduna, adia, ania, atua

   Antonym: wala

   may bulawan sa ungib

   there is gold in the cave

   may dagkong mga pating sa dagat

   the big sharks are in the sea

2. particle used as a possessive marker: to have

   may sakyanan si Maria

   Maria has a personal vehicle

3. (after sa) near a place

   sa may pultahan ― by the door

4. (sometimes with mga) approximately, about some time ago; at around

   may (mga) duha ka buwan na ― it has been about two months

   may (mga) alas-kuwatro ― at around four o'clock

5. (+ adjective prefixed with pagka-) be somewhat

   may pagkatabian si Antonio ― Antonio is somewhat talkative

• In contrast to aduna and anaa, which behave as verbs and could thus take postpositive enclitics, is a particle and is used immediately before the word modified.

  may sakyanan siya ― she has a car

  may siya sakyanan ― is ungrammatical

may

1. butter, oil

• yağ

Borrowed from Russian май (maj), from Latin Maius.

• IPA^(key): /mɑj/

may

1. (literary) May

   Synonym: Hederlez ay

N. A Baskakov, editor (1972), “май”, in Gagauzsko-Russko-Moldavskij Slovarʹ [Gagauz-Russian-Moldovan Dictionary], Moskva: Izdatelʹstvo Sovetskaja Enciklopedija, →ISBN, page 322

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.

• mai

may

1. first/third-person singular present indicative of mowen (“to be able to”)

may m

1. intervention

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
• mi — obsolete

From Proto-Central Philippine *may (existential marker). See also Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *mai (“and”).

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

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

Borrowed from Russian май (maj), from Latin māius.

may (plural maylar)

1. May

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [maj˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [maj˧˧]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [ma(ː)j˧˧]

Cognate with Muong Bi băl.

may • (𦁼, 埋, 枚)

1. to sew

• khâu

Cognate with Muong Bi măl.

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 Maius.

• IPA^(key): /maj/

may

1. May (month)

From Proto-Indo-European *méh₂tēr.

• IPA^(key): /mɑj/
• Hyphenation: may

may f

1. mother

   Synonyms: maye, mae, mare, marde, mey