Definitions for may
meɪmay

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:2.6 / 5 votes

1. Maynoun

   the month following April and preceding June

2. whitethorn, English hawthorn, may, Crataegus laevigata, Crataegus oxycanthanoun

   thorny Eurasian shrub of small tree having dense clusters of white to scarlet flowers followed by deep red berries; established as an escape in eastern North America

WiktionaryRate this definition:4.0 / 2 votes

1. Maynoun

   The hawthorn or its blossoms (as it blooms in May)

2. Maynoun

   The fifth month of the Gregorian calendar, following April and preceding June.

3. Maynoun

   A female given name from English, pet name for Mary and Margaret, reinforced by the month and plant meaning.

   I will not send Owen's Lily May to the almshouse." "Lily―what?" demanded Mrs. Morley rather sharply, for she was half provoked with what she mentally called Amy's whim of keeping the outcast child when she might send it to the asylum. "Lily May," said Amy, smiling. "Her name is Mary, and we called her first Little Mary, and then Little May. But Owen calls her Lily May."

4. Maynoun

   A surname.

5. Etymology: mai, so called because it blossoms in May.

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Mayauxiliary verb,

   preterite might.

   Etymology: magan , Saxon; moghen, Dutch.

   1. To be at liberty; to be permitted; to be allowed; as, you may do for me [ per me licet ] all you can.

   He that is sent out to travel with the thoughts of a man, designing to improve himself, may get into the conversation of persons of condition. John Locke, on Education.

   2. To be possible; with the words may be.

   Be the workmen what they may be, let us speak of the work. Francis Bacon, Essays.

   3. To be by chance.

   It may be, I shall otherwise bethink me. William Shakespeare.

   How old may Phillis be, you ask,
   Whose beauty thus all hearts engages?
   To answer is no easy task,
   For she has really two ages. Matthew Prior.

   4. To have power.

   This also tendeth to no more but what the king may do: for what he may do is of two kinds; what he may do as just, and what he may do as possible. Francis Bacon.

   Make the most of life you may. Vincent Bourne.

   5. A word expressing desire.

   May you live happily and long for the service of your country. John Dryden, Æneis. Dedicat. to the.

2. Maynoun

   The fifth month of the year; the confine of Spring and Summer; the early or gay part of life.

   Etymology: Maius, Latin.

   On a day, alack the day!
   Love, whose month is ever May,
   ’Spied a blossom passing fair,
   Playing in the wanton air. William Shakespeare, Love’s Labour lost.

   Maids are May when they are maids,
   But the sky changes when they are wives. William Shakespeare.

   My liege
   Is in the very May-morn of his youth,
   Ripe for exploits. William Shakespeare, Henry V.

   I’ll prove it on his body, if he dare;
   Despight his nice fence, and his active practice,
   His May of youth, and bloom of lustihood. William Shakespeare.

   May must be drawn with a sweet and amiable countenance, clad in a robe of white and green, embroidered with daffidils, hawthorns, and blue-bottles. Henry Peacham.

   Hail! bounteous May, that do’st inspire
   Mirth and youth, and warm desire;
   Woods and groves are of thy dressing,
   Hill and dale doth boast thy blessing. John Milton.

3. To Mayverb

   To gather flowers on May morning.

   Etymology: from the noun.

   When merry May first early calls the morn,
   With merry maids a maying they do go. Philip Sidney.

   Cupid with Aurora playing,
   As he met her once a maying. John Milton.

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. May

   May is the twenty-eighth single by B'z, released on May 24, 2000. This song is one of B'z many number-one singles in Oricon chart, although sales were not as high as their previous single.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. may

   May is a modal verb that is typically used to express possibility, permission, or to make a request. It can also be used to indicate uncertainty or to offer a tentative suggestion or proposition.

2. May

   May is the fifth month of the year in the Gregorian calendar and has 31 days. It is typically associated with the transition from spring to summer in the Northern Hemisphere and from autumn to winter in the Southern Hemisphere.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:3.7 / 3 votes

1. May

   an auxiliary verb qualifyng the meaning of another verb, by expressing: (a) Ability, competency, or possibility; -- now oftener expressed by can

2. Maynoun

   a maiden

3. Maynoun

   the fifth month of the year, containing thirty-one days

4. Maynoun

   the early part or springtime of life

5. Maynoun

   the flowers of the hawthorn; -- so called from their time of blossoming; also, the hawthorn

6. Maynoun

   the merrymaking of May Day

7. Etymology: [F. Mai, L. Maius; so named in honor of the goddess Maia (Gr. Mai^a), daughter of Atlas and mother of Mercury by Jupiter.]

WikidataRate this definition:3.8 / 4 votes

1. May

   May is the fifth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian Calendars and one of seven months with the length of 31 days. May is a month of autumn in the Southern Hemisphere and spring in the Northern Hemisphere. Therefore May in the Southern Hemisphere is the seasonal equivalent of November in the Northern Hemisphere and vice versa. No other month begins or ends on the same day of the week as May in any year. January of the following year always begins and ends on the same day of the week as May of the current year. The month May was named for the Greek goddess Maia, who was identified with the Roman era goddess of fertility, Bona Dea, whose festival was held in May. Conversely, the Roman poet Ovid provides a second etymology, in which he says that the month of May is named for the maiores, Latin for "elders," and that the following month is named for the iuniores, or "young people".

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. May

   mā, v.i. to be able: to be allowed: to be free to act: to be possible: to be by chance: to be competent:—pa.t. might (mīt).—adv. May′be, perhaps, possibly.—n. a possibility.—adv. May′hap, perhaps. [A.S. mæg, pr.t. of mugan, to be able, pa.t. mihte; cog. with Goth. magan, Ger. mögen.]

2. May

   mā, n. the fifth month of the year: the early or gay part of life.—v.i. to gather May (prov. Eng. the blossom of the hawthorn, which blooms in May):—pr.p. May′ing.—ns. May′-bee′tle, May′-bug, the cockchafer; May′-bloom, the hawthorn flower; May′day, the first day of May; May′-dew, the dew of May, esp. that of the morning of the first day of May, which is said to whiten linen, and to enable a face washed with it to keep its beauty; May′-duke, a variety of sour cherry; May′-flow′er, the hawthorn, which blooms in May; May′fly, a short-lived fly which appears in May; May′-game, sport such as is usual on 1st May, frolic generally; May′ing, the observance of Mayday sports and games; May′-lā′dy, the queen of the May; May′-lil′y, the lily of the valley, so called because it blooms in May; May′-morn (Shak.), freshness, like that of a morning in May, vigour; May′pole, a pole erected for dancing round on Mayday; May′-queen, a young woman crowned with flowers as queen on Mayday; May′time, May, the season of May. [O. Fr. Mai—L. Maius (mensis, a month), sacred to Maia, the mother of Mercury.]

3. May

   mā, n. a maid. [A.S. mǽg, a kinswoman.]

The Nuttall EncyclopediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. May

   the fifth month of the year, so called from a Sanskrit word signifying to grow, as being the shooting or growing month.

Dictionary of Nautical TermsRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. may

   See VENDAVAL.

Editors ContributionRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. may

   A month of a specific calendar year.

   May is the fifth month of the year.

   
   

   Submitted by MaryC on April 9, 2020  

Suggested ResourcesRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. MAY

   What does MAY stand for? -- Explore the various meanings for the MAY acronym on the Abbreviations.com website.

2. May

   May vs. Might -- In this Grammar.com article you will learn the differences between the words May and Might.

3. May

   May vs. May -- In this Grammar.com article you will learn the differences between the words May and May.

4. May

   Can vs. May -- In this Grammar.com article you will learn the differences between the words Can and May.

5. May

   May vs. Might -- In this Grammar.com article you will learn the differences between the words May and Might.

Etymology and OriginsRate this definition:4.0 / 1 vote

1. May

   The budding or shooting of plants in this month caused the Romans to give it the name of Magius, afterwards shortened into Maius, from the Sanskrit mah, to grow. Eventually this month was held sacred to Maia, the mother of Mercury, to whom sacrifices were offered on the first day.

Surnames Frequency by Census RecordsRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. MAY

   According to the U.S. Census Bureau, May is ranked #304 in terms of the most common surnames in America.
   
   The May surname appeared 103,306 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 35 would have the surname May.
   
   83.5% or 86,312 total occurrences were White.
   9.5% or 9,886 total occurrences were Black.
   3% or 3,141 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.
   1.8% or 1,952 total occurrences were of two or more races.
   1.2% or 1,260 total occurrences were Asian.
   0.7% or 754 total occurrences were American Indian or Alaskan Native.

Matched Categories

1. • Gregorian Calendar Month
   • Hawthorn

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'may' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #81

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'may' in Written Corpus Frequency: #234

3. Verbs Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'may' in Verbs Frequency: #19

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

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Anagrams for may »

1. Amy

2. MYA

3. Mya

4. mya

5. yam

How to pronounce may?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say may in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of may in Chaldean Numerology is: 6

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of may in Pythagorean Numerology is: 3

Examples of may in a Sentence

1. Lisa Ohrmundt:

   Four years ago, in May of 2017, we had a really big hive taken out, a couple years later we had a smaller one taken out, then a week or so ago we had a smaller one taken out, and then this one... hopefully is the grand finale.

2. Del Coro:

   Some conventional produce, especially if out of season, may be harvested prematurely... and so it may appear to be ripe by color but not actually taste ripe -- think of out-of-season tomatoes or strawberries that appear red but don't have much taste -- and so they would be less nutritious than local produce.

3. Hannah Jones:

   At the beginning of last week, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell suggested that more aggressive rate hikes may be necessary to rein in inflation, which led to a sharp drop in the stock market and an increase in mortgage rates.

4. Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha:

   Opinions mean nothing; they may be beautiful or ugly, clever or foolish, anyone can embrace or reject them.

5. Richard Slark:

   The fines for non-compliance are understood to be relatively small and they may not be levied for years, given the EU's drawn out enforcement processes.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=may
2. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/May
3. ^ Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
   https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/views/search.php?term=may
4. ^ Wikipedia
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May
5. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
6. ^ Webster Dictionary
   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/may
7. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=may
8. ^ Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
   https://www.gutenberg.org/files/37683/37683-h/37683-h.htm#:~:text=may
9. ^ The Nuttall Encyclopedia
   https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/12342/pg12342-images.html#May
10. ^ Dictionary of Nautical Terms
    https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/26000/pg26000-images.html#:~:text=may
11. ^ Etymology and Origins
    https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/54657/pg54657-images.html#:~:text=may
12. ^ Surnames Frequency by Census Records
    https://www.census.gov/topics/population/genealogy/data/2010_surnames.html
13. ^ Usage in printed sources
    https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=may