may

Definition of may in English English dictionary: A surname; A female given name, pet name for Mary and Margaret, reinforced by the month and plant meaning; The fifth month of the Gregorian calendar, following April and preceding June; The hawthorn or its blossoms (as it blooms in May); To be strong; to have power (over); Expressing a present possibility; possibly
He may be lying.; Expressing a wish (with present subjunctive effect)
May you stay forever young.; To have permission to, be allowed. Used in granting permission and in questions to make polite requests
May I sit there?.; To gather may
In valleys green and still / Where lovers wander maying.; To be able; can
But many times we give way to passions we may resist and will not.; To be able to go
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 .; The hawthorn bush or its blossoms; From rfc2119: 'This word, or the adjective "OPTIONAL", mean that an item is truly optional One vendor may choose to include the item because a particular marketplace requires it or because the vendor feels that it enhances the product while another vendor may omit the same item An implementation which does not include a particular option MUST be prepared to interoperate with another implementation which does include the option, though perhaps with reduced functionality In the same vein an implementation which does include a particular option MUST be prepared to interoperate with another implementation which does not include the option (except, of course, for the feature the option provides )'; emphasis You use may in expressions such as I may add and I may say in order to emphasize a statement that you are making. They spent their afternoons playing golf -- extremely badly, I may add -- around Loch Lomond Both of them, I may say, are thoroughly reliable men; be that as it may: see be may as well: see well. A peninsula of southern New Jersey between the Atlantic Ocean and Delaware Bay. The southern tip forms Cape May Point. The blossoms of the hawthorn. the fifth month of the year, between April and June next/last May (mai, from Maius, from Maia Roman goddess). the white or pink flowers of the hawthorn. Alcott Louisa May Fifth of May May beetle Lessing Doris May Doris May Tayler May Day May Fourth Movement Gloria May Josephine Svensson; pet name for Mary and Margaret, reinforced by the month and plant meaning; You use may when you are mentioning the reaction or attitude that you think someone is likely to have to something you are about to say. You know, Brian, whatever you may think, I work hard for a living; You use may when you are giving permission to someone to do something, or when asking for permission. Mr Hobbs? May we come in? If you wish, you may now have a glass of milk = can; If you do something so that a particular thing may happen, you do it so that there is an opportunity for that thing to happen. the need for an increase in the numbers of surgeons so that patients may be treated as soon as possible = can; politeness You use may when you are making polite requests. I'd like the use of your living room, if I may May I come with you to Southampton? = can; People sometimes use may to express hopes and wishes. Courage seems now to have deserted him. May it quickly reappear; {n} the 5th month, the gay part of life, youth; {v} auxiliary verb, to go a maying; You use may in statements where you are accepting the truth of a situation, but contrasting it with something that is more important. I may be almost 50, but there's not a lot of things I've forgotten; You use may to indicate that someone is allowed to do something, usually because of a rule or (Hukuk) You use may not to indicate that someone is not allowed to do something. Any two persons may marry in Scotland provided that both persons are at least 16 years of age on the day of their marriage Adolescents under the age of 18 may not work in jobs that require them to drive; vagueness You use may have with a past participle when suggesting that it is possible that something happened or was true, or when giving a possible explanation for something. He may have been to some of those places The chaos may have contributed to the deaths of up to 20 people; You use may when you are mentioning a quality or fact about something that people can make use of if they want to. The bag has narrow straps, so it may be worn over the shoulder or carried in the hand = can; {i} fifth month of the Gregorian calendar; female first name; May is the fifth month of the year in the Western calendar. May is a modal verb. It is used with the base form of a verb; vagueness You use may to indicate that there is a possibility that something is true, but you cannot be certain. Civil rights officials say there may be hundreds of other cases of racial violence = might; You use may to indicate that something is sometimes true or is true in some circumstances. A vegetarian diet may not provide enough calories for a child's normal growth Up to five inches of snow may cover the mountains. = might; vagueness You use may to indicate that something will possibly happen or be true in the future, but you cannot be certain. We may have some rain today I may be back next year I don't know if they'll publish it or not. They may Scientists know that cancer may not show up for many years. = might; Liberty; permission; allowance; Modesty, courtesy, or concession, or a desire to soften a question or remark; Discretionary and is not mandatory or required (3); The implementation is not obliged to follow this in any way; The flowers of the hawthorn; so called from their time of blossoming; also, the hawthorn; "Fan bearer on the King's [Akhenaten's] Right Hand" Links: Royalty; Contingency or liability; possibility or probability; Conforming objects and xAIML interpreters are permitted to but need not behave as described; A maiden; Emerald; 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; {f} can; allow; be possible; wish, would that; Pouvoir Peut Demande polie Probabilité May I go to the washroom? Steve may get a good score; aux may; can [OE mÃ¦Ã®]; The word "may" is conditional, and implies that there is discretion as to whether a condition exists or an act or action will take place; Maximum Average Yield The average yield that would be obtained from a fishery over time under a CAY harvest strategy; Denotes an allowable option or permissible practice Can also indicate a best-management practice Written justification for a decision not to implement a "may" statement is not required; Word "may" usually is employed to imply permissive, optional or discretional, and not mandatory; n bulan Mei 2 n Mei; Possibly, but not certainly; the month following April and preceding June; the Roman goddess of growth and increase and the mother of Hermes; Indicates the existence of an option; 5/1 7: 15 AM 10 Taurus5/30 11: 20 PM 9 degree Gemini 5/15 10: 36 PM 25 degree Taurus/Scorpio Lunar Eclipse; An auxiliary verb qualifying the meaning of another verb, by expressing: Ability, competency, or possibility; now oftener expressed by can; To have permission to. Used in granting permission and in questions to make polite requests; Desire or wish, as in prayer, imprecation, benediction, and the like; A document or user interface is conforming whether this statement applies or not; Expressing something that is possibly true; The early part or springtime of life; {i} hawthorne tree or bush; flowers of the hawthorne bush; young woman (Archaic); springtime; With respect to implementations, the word "may" is to be interpreted as an optional feature that is not required in this specification but can be provided With respect to Document Conformance, the word "may" means that the optional feature must not be used The term "optional" has the same definition as "may"; Is permissible; The fifth month of the year, containing thirty-one days; Postcards/Rack Cards; The merrymaking of May Day; Emerald Green Onyx Chrysoprase Green; mayo
Aren't you the mayor? - Aren't you the mayor?
May 35th: The fourth of June, the anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, known in China as the June Fourth Incident
May Day: The first day of May, a world-wide workers' holiday
May Day: The first day of May, the traditional day for pagan fertility rites
May Day: The first day of May, a spring festival, a celebration of the beginning of the spring
May Days: plural form of May Day
May Queen: A girl chosen to walk at the front of the May Day procession
May apple: A fruit-bearing flowering plant with poisonous roots, native to eastern North America, taxonomic name Podophyllum peltatum
May apple: The fruit of the plant Podophyllum peltatum
May apples: plural form of May apple
May blossom: A species of flower-bearing hawthorn with edible berries, taxonomic name Crataegus monogyna
May-September romance: A romantic relationship where one partner is significantly older than the other
The 40-year-old man and his 20-year-old girlfriend were involved in a May-September romance.
May-September romances: plural form of May-September romance
may of: Common misspelling of may have
may the Force be with you: Used to wish someone luck with a difficult endeavor
may've: may have
He may've hid? asked Bentley. The boatswain nodded an affirmative. He may've, sir. But we looked and searched a bit, and we found nothing. We flushed a few more drunken buggers out for locking up, but no Black Bob. I'm sorry, sir, but I wouldn't be surprised....
May Ball: a formal dance held at the universities of Oxford and Cambridge every year in June. Students dress formally for a May Ball, and it is expensive to go to one
May Day: spring festival celebrated on the 1st of May; holiday celebrated on the 1st of May in honor of workers and labor organizations
May Day: May Day is the 1st of May, which in many countries is celebrated as a public holiday, especially as one in honour of working people. the first day of May, when left-wing political parties in some countries celebrate, and when people traditionally celebrate the arrival of spring. In Europe, the day (May 1) for traditional springtime celebrations. It probably originated in pre-Christian agricultural rituals. Celebrations included a May king and queen, a Maypole, and people carrying trees, green branches, or garlands. May Day was designated an international labour day by the International Socialist Congress of 1899, and it remains the standard Labour Day worldwide, with a few exceptions, including Canada and the U.S. A major holiday in the Soviet Union and other communist countries, it was the occasion for important political demonstrations
May Fourth Movement: Chinese intellectual revolution and sociopolitical reform movement (1917-21). In 1915 young intellectuals inspired by Chen Duxiu began agitating for the reform and strengthening of Chinese society through acceptance of Western science, democracy, and schools of thought, one objective being to make China strong enough to resist Western imperialism. On May 4, 1919, reformist zeal found focus in a protest by Beijing's students against the Versailles Peace Conference's decision to transfer former German concessions in China to Japan. After more than a month of demonstrations, strikes, and boycotts of Japanese goods, the government gave way and refused to sign the peace treaty with Germany. The movement spurred the successful reorganization of the Nationalist Party and gave birth to the Chinese Communist Party. See also Treaty of Versailles
May Queen: a young woman chosen as queen as part of the May Day celebrations. She wears a crown of flowers on her head, and she is also called Queen of the May
May he live long and happily: May he be blessed with a long joyous life!
May he live long!: May he be blessed with a long life!
May he live!: May he be blessed with a long life!
May he rest in Paradise!: May his soul rest in Heaven
May she live!: May she be blessed with a long life!
May the Lord revenge his blood!: May God take vengeance on his death
may I see: could I look, is it possible to see
may I see your driver's license: show me your driver's license, give me your driving permit
may I?: am I allowed? am I permitted?
may all your dreams come true: I wish that all your fantasies will be realized
may apple: edible but insipid fruit of the May apple plant
may as well be dead: has no reason for living, considered unimportant or worthless (said of oneself in despair, or of another person in disgust)
may be: possibly, could be, might be
may beetle: cockchafer: any of various large European beetles destructive to vegetation as both larvae and adult
may beetle: June beetle: any of various large usually brown North American leaf-eating beetles common in late spring; the larvae feed on roots of grasses etc
may day: observed in the United States to celebrate the coming of spring; observed in Russia in honor of labor
may he rest in peace: may his soul be at peace, may his memory be blessed (said of one who is deceased)
may laws: See Kulturkampf, above
may laws: In Russia, severe oppressive laws against Jews, which have given occasion for great persecution; so called because they received the assent of the czar in May, 1882, and because likened to the Prussian May laws (see Kulturkampf)
may queen: the girl chosen queen of a May Day festival
may tree: The hawthorn
may wine: a punch made of moselle and sugar and sparkling water or champagne flavored with sweet woodruff
may you live long: may you live many more years, may you live until old age
may you prosper: I wish you success
may've: May've is a spoken form of `may have', especially when `have' is an auxiliary verb. the short form of 'may have'
April showers bring May flowers: By extension, that a period of discomfort can provide the basis for a period of happiness
April showers bring May flowers: April, traditionally a rainy period, gives way to May, when flowers will bloom because of the water provided to them by the April rains
a cat may look at a king: Even a purported inferior has certain abilities, even in the presence of a purported superior
be it as it may: Even if that is the case; whether that is true or not; nevertheless
be that as it may: Even if that is the case; whether that is true or not; nevertheless
They seem to think I'm photogenic. Be that as it may, and Rollins surely is a striking figure, his music and only his music matters.
come what may: In spite of anything that might happen; whatever may occur
He assured us that he would attend the wedding come what may.
devil-may-care: carefree or recklessly irresponsible
mid-May: Any time in the middle of May
mid-May: Happening in the middle of May
mid-May: In the middle of May
ne'er cast a clout til May be out: Advice not to change from winter clothes to summer clothes until June, as there is often a sudden cold snap in May
there may be snow on the rooftop but there is fire in the furnace: Even if a person is in his or her senior years, with gray hair, he or she can still have ambition and energy, especially sexual energy
to whom it may concern: Used as a salutation in a letter when the writer does not know who will read the letter
to whom this may concern: A phrase used to begin a formal letter to an unknown recipient
your mileage may vary: To express a possible difference in taste, "this is just my opinion, your opinion may be different"
That red dress looks really good on you, but your mileage may vary, of course.
your mileage may vary: It may work differently in your situation, or be different in your experience
Those batteries last nine hours in my laptop, but your mileage may vary.
if i may be so bold: A polite way of asking for or suggesting something when you do not want to offend someone
mayest: Second-person singular simple present form of may
mayest: alternative spelling of mayst
mayest: thou mayest you may
mayst: alternative spelling of mayest
mayst: Second-person singular simple present form of may
mayst: Variant of mayest. thou mayst you may

may

Hyphenation

May

Turkish pronunciation

mey

Synonyms

can, could, might

Pronunciation

/ˈmā/ /ˈmeɪ/

Etymology

[ mA ] (verbal auxiliary.) before 12th century. Middle English, from Old English, from Old French mai, from Latin māius, Maia's month, from Maia, a Roman earth goddess, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *magya, she who is great, from Proto-Indo-European base *meg-, great