may
1
[ mey ]
/ meɪ /
auxiliary verb, present singular 1st person may, 2nd may or (Archaic) may·est or mayst, 3rd may; present plural may; past might.
(used to express possibility): It may rain.
(used to express opportunity or permission): You may enter.
(used to express contingency, especially 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.
(used to express wish or prayer): May you live to an old age.
Archaic.
(used to express ability or power.)
Compare
might1.
Origin of may
1
before 900; Middle English
mai 1st and 3rd person singular present indicative of
mouen, Old English
mæg (infinitive
magan); cognate with German
mögen
usage note for may
See
can1.
Words nearby may
Definition for may (2 of 3)
may
2
[ mey ]
/ meɪ /
noun Archaic.
a maiden.
Origin of may
2
before 900; Middle English
mai; Old English
mæg
Definition for may (3 of 3)
May
[ mey ]
/ meɪ /
noun
verb (used without object)
(lowercase)
to gather flowers in the spring: when we were maying.
Origin of May
before 1050; Middle English, Old English
Maius < Latin, short for
Maius mēnsis Maia's month
British Dictionary definitions for may (1 of 5)
may
1
/ (meɪ) /
verb past might (takes an infinitive without to or an implied infinitive used as an auxiliary)
Word Origin for may
Old English
mæg, from
magan: compare Old High German
mag, Old Norse
mā
usage for may
It was formerly considered correct to use
may rather than
can when referring to permission as in:
you may use the laboratory for your experiments, but this use of
may is now almost entirely restricted to polite questions such as:
may I open the window? The use of
may with
if in constructions such as:
your analysis may have been more more credible if … is generally regarded as incorrect,
might being preferred:
your analysis might have been more credible if …
British Dictionary definitions for may (2 of 5)
Word Origin for may
Old English
mæg; related to Old High German
māg kinsman, Old Norse
māgr a relative by marriage
British Dictionary definitions for may (3 of 5)
Word Origin for may
C16: from the month of
May, when it flowers
British Dictionary definitions for may (4 of 5)
May
1
/ (meɪ) /
noun
the fifth month of the year, consisting of 31 days
Word Origin for May
from Old French, from Latin
Maius, probably from
Maia, Roman goddess, identified with the Greek goddess
Maia
British Dictionary definitions for may (5 of 5)
May
2
/ (meɪ) /
noun
Robert McCredie, Baron. born 1936, Australian biologist and ecologist
Idioms and Phrases with may
may
see be that as it may; come what may; let the chips fall where they may; to whom it may concern.