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mayst

 - 5 dictionary results

mayst

  [meyst]
Use mayst in a Sentence
–verb Archaic.
2nd pers. sing. pres. indic. of may 1 .

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

Usage note:
See can 1 .
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To mayst
may·est   (mā'ĭst)   
aux.v.   Archaic
Second person singular present tense of may1.
mayst   (māst)   
aux.v.  Variant of mayest.
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 
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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