May , n. [F. Mai, L. Maius; so named in honor of the
goddess Maia (Gr.
&?;), daughter of Atlas and mother of Mercury by Jupiter.]
1. The fifth month of the
year, containing thirty-one days. Chaucer.
2.
The early part or springtime of life.
His
May of youth, and bloom of lustihood.
Shak.
3. (Bot.) The flowers of the hawthorn; -- so called from their time of
blossoming; also, the hawthorn.
The palm and
may make country houses gay.
Nash. Plumes that mocked the may.
Tennyson.
4. The merrymaking of May Day. Tennyson.
Italian may (Bot.), a shrubby species of Spiræa (S. hypericifolia) with many clusters of small white flowers along the slender branches. --
May apple (Bot.), the fruit of an American plant (Podophyllum peltatum). Also, the plant itself (popularly called mandrake), which has two lobed
leaves, and bears a single egg-shaped fruit at the forking. The root and
leaves, used in medicine, are powerfully drastic. -- May beetle, May bug (Zoöl.), any one of numerous species of large lamellicorn beetles that appear in the
winged state in May. They belong to Melolontha, and allied genera. Called also June beetle. -- May Day, the first day
of May; -- celebrated in the rustic parts of England by the
crowning of a May queen with a garland, and by dancing about a May pole. -- May dew, the morning dew of the first
day of May,
to which magical properties were attributed. -- May flower (Bot.), a plant that
flowers in May; also, its blossom. See Mayflower, in the vocabulary. -- May fly (Zoöl.), any species of Ephemera, and allied genera; -- so called because the mature flies of many species appear in May. See
Ephemeral fly, under Ephemeral.
-- May game, any May-day sport. -- May lady, the queen or lady
of May, in old May games. -- May lily (Bot.), the lily of the valley (Convallaria
majalis). -- May pole. See Maypole in the Vocabulary. -- May queen, a girl or young woman crowned queen in the sports of
May Day. -- May thorn, the hawthorn.
May , n. [Cf. Icel. mær, Goth. mawi; akin to E. maiden. √103.]
A
maiden. [Obs.] Chaucer.
May (mā), v. [imp.
Might (mīt)]
[AS. pres. mæg I am able, pret.
meahte, mihte; akin to D. mogen, G. mögen, OHG. mugan, magan, Icel.
mega, Goth. magan, Russ. moche. √103.
Cf. Dismay, Main strength, Might. The old imp. mought is obsolete, except as a provincial word.] An auxiliary verb qualifying the meaning of another verb, by expressing: (a) Ability,
competency, or possibility; -- now oftener
expressed by can.
How may a man, said he, with idle
speech,
Be won to spoil
the castle of his health
!
Spenser. For
what he [the
king] may do is of two kinds; what he may do
as just, and
what he may do as possible.
Bacon. For
of all sad
words of tongue or pen
The
saddest are these: "It might have been."
Whittier. (b) Liberty; permission; allowance.
Thou mayst be no longer steward.
Luke
xvi. 2. (c) Contingency or liability; possibility
or probability.
Though what he learns he speaks, and may advance
Some general maxims, or be right by chance.
Pope. (d)
Modesty, courtesy,
or concession, or a desire to soften a question or remark.
How old may Phillis be, you ask.
Prior. (e) Desire or wish, as in prayer, imprecation, benediction, and the like. "May you live happily."
Dryden.
May be, ∧ It may be,
are used as equivalent to possibly, perhaps, by chance, peradventure. See 1st
Maybe.
Hear it pronounced