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may

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may

1[mey]
–auxiliary verb, present singular 1st person may, 2nd may or (Archaic) may⋅est or mayst, 3rd may; present plural may; past might.
1. (used to express possibility): It may rain.
2. (used to express opportunity or permission): You may enter.
3. (used to express contingency, esp. in clauses indicating condition, concession, purpose, result, etc.): I may be wrong but I think you would be wise to go. Times may change but human nature stays the same.
4. (used to express wish or prayer): May you live to an old age.
5. Archaic. (used to express ability or power.)
Compare might 1 .


Origin:
bef. 900; ME mai 1st and 3rd pers. sing. pres. ind. of mouen, OE mæg (inf. magan); c. G mögen


See can 1 .

may

2[mey]
–noun Archaic.
a maiden.

Origin:
bef. 900; ME mai; OE mæg

May

[mey]
–noun
1. the fifth month of the year, containing 31 days.
2. the early part of one's life, esp. the prime: a young woman in her May.
3. the festivities of May Day.
4. (lowercase) British. the hawthorn.
5. a female given name.
–verb (used without object)
6. (lowercase) to gather flowers in the spring: when we were maying.

Origin:
bef. 1050; ME, OE Maius < L, short for Maius mēnsis Maia's month

May

[mey]
–noun
Cape, a cape at the SE tip of New Jersey, on Delaware Bay.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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may 1   (mā)   
aux.v.   Past tense might (mīt)
  1. To be allowed or permitted to: May I take a swim? Yes, you may.

  2. Used to indicate a certain measure of likelihood or possibility: It may rain this afternoon.

  3. Used to express a desire or fervent wish: Long may he live!

  4. Used to express contingency, purpose, or result in clauses introduced by that or so that: expressing ideas so that the average person may understand.

  5. To be obliged; must. Used in statutes, deeds, and other legal documents. See Usage Note at can1.


[Middle English, to be able, from Old English mæg, first and third person sing. of magan, to be strong, be able; see magh- in Indo-European roots.]
may 2   (mā)   
n.   Chiefly British
The blossoms of the hawthorn.

[French mai, hawthorn, from Mai, May (so called because it blooms in May); see May.]
May   (mā)   
n.  
  1. The fifth month of the year in the Gregorian calendar. See Table at calendar.

  2. The springtime of life; youth.

  3. The celebration of May Day.


[Middle English, from Old French Mai, from Latin Māius (mēnsis), (the month) of Maia, from Māia, an Italic goddess; see meg- in Indo-European roots.]
May, Cape  
A peninsula of southern New Jersey between the Atlantic Ocean and Delaware Bay. The southern tip forms Cape May Point.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

may 
O.E. mæg "I am able" (inf. magan, pt. meahte, mihte), from P.Gmc. root *mag-, inf. *maganan (cf. O.Fris. muga, O.N. mega, Du. mogen, Ger. mögen, Goth. magan "to be able"), from PIE *mogh-/*megh- "power" (cf. Gk. mekhos, makhos "means, instrument," O.C.S. mogo "to be able," mosti "power, force," Skt. mahan "great"). Also related to might (q.v.). Mayhap is 1536, from phrase (it) may hap.

May 
1110, from O.Fr. mai, from L. Majus, Maius mensis "month of May," possibly from Maja, Maia a Roman earth goddess (wife of Vulcan) whose name is possibly from PIE *mag-ya "she who is great," fem. suffixed form of base *meg- "great" (cognate with L. magnus). Replaced O.E. þrimilce, month in which cows can be milked three times a day. May marriage have been considered unlucky at least since Ovid's day. Mayflower (1626) was used locally for the cowslip, the lady's smock, and other plants that bloom in May. May apple attested from 1733.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Encyclopedia

May

fifth month of the Gregorian calendar. It was named after Maia, a Roman fertility goddess.

Learn more about May with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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