May in Scrabble and Meaning

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3-letter words (2 found)

2-letter words (5 found)

You can make 7 words from may according to the Scrabble US and Canada dictionary.

All 3 letters words made out of may

may amy mya yma aym yam

Note: these 'words' (valid or invalid) are all the permutations of the word may. These words are obtained by scrambling the letters in may.

Definitions and meaning of may

may

Pronunciation

• enPR: mā, IPA^(key): /meɪ/
• Rhymes: -eɪ

Etymology 1

From Middle English mowen, mayen, moȝen, maȝen, from Old English magan, from Proto-West Germanic *magan, from Proto-Germanic *maganą, from Proto-Indo-European *megʰ-.

Cognate with Dutch mag (“may”, first and third-person singular of mogen (“to be able to, be allowed to, may”)), Low German mögen, German mag (“like”, first and third-person singular of mögen (“to like, want, require”)), Swedish må, Icelandic mega, megum. See also might.

Alternative forms

• (obsolete) maye

Verb

may (third-person singular simple present may, no present participle, simple past might, no past participle)

1. (obsolete, intransitive) To be strong; to have power (over). [8th–17th c.]
2. (obsolete, auxiliary) To be able; can. [8th–17th c.]
3. (intransitive, poetic) To be able to go. [from 9th c.]
4. (modal auxiliary verb, defective) To have permission to, be allowed. Used in granting permission and in questions to make polite requests. [from 9th c.]

   Synonyms: can, could, might

5. (modal auxiliary verb, defective) Expressing a present possibility; possibly. [from 13th c.]

   Synonyms: could, might
6. (subjunctive present, defective) Expressing a wish (with present subjunctive effect). [from 16th c.]

   Synonym: might
7. Used in modesty, courtesy, or concession, or to soften a question or remark.

Usage notes

• May is now a defective verb. It has no infinitive, no past participle, and no future tense. Forms of to be allowed to are used to replace these missing tenses.
• The simple past (both indicative and subjunctive) of may is might.
• The present tense is negated as may not, which can be contracted to mayn't, although this is old-fashioned; the simple past is negated as might not, which can be contracted to mightn't.
• May has archaic second-person singular present forms mayest and mayst.
• Usage of this word in the sense of possibly is considered incorrect by some speakers and writers, as it blurs the meaning of the word in the sense have permission to. These speakers and writers prefer to use the word might instead.
• Conversely, since may not is particularly likely to promote confusion between the senses of "will possibly not" and "is forbidden to," some rules for the drafting of laws and regulations proscribe "may not" and require the use of "must not" or similar for clarity. Example: [2]
• Wishes are often cast in the imperative rather than the subjunctive mood, not using the word may, as in Have a great day! rather than May you have a great day. The use of may for this purpose may lend a more formal, literary, or solemn feeling (perhaps jocularly so) to the wish. Moreover, wishes in the subjunctive need not use may if the meaning is clear without it, which is the case mainly for established expressions in the third-person singular such as God help you.

Derived terms

Translations

See also

• Appendix:English modal verbs
• Appendix:English tag questions

Etymology 2

French mai, so called because it blossoms in the month of May.

Noun

may (uncountable)

1. The hawthorn bush or its blossoms.

Derived terms

• Italian may
• mayhaw

Translations

Verb

may (third-person singular simple present mays, present participle maying, simple past and past participle mayed)

1. (poetic, intransitive) To gather may, or flowers in general.
2. (poetic, intransitive) To celebrate May Day.

Etymology 3

From Middle English may, maye (“woman, maid, girl, virgin”), from Old English mǣġ (“kinswoman”), from Proto-West Germanic *māg, from Proto-Germanic *mēgaz (“kinsman”). Related to Old English māge, mǣġe (“kinswoman”) and Old English mǣġ (“kinsman”).

Noun

may (plural mays)

1. (archaic) A maiden.

Anagrams

• Amy, MYA, Mya, Yam, mya, yam

Azerbaijani

Etymology

Borrowed from Russian май (maj).

Pronunciation

Noun

may (definite accusative mayı, plural maylar)

1. (North Azerbaijani) May

   Synonym: (South Azerbaijani) مه (mə)

Declension

See also

• (Gregorian calendar months) ay; yanvar, fevral, mart, aprel, may, iyun, iyul, avqust, sentyabr, oktyabr, noyabr, dekabr ^{(Category: az:Months)}

Bikol Central

Verb

may

1. there is
2. to have

Synonyms

• igwa

Antonyms

• mayo
• wara

Crimean Tatar

Noun

may

1. butter, oil

Declension

Synonyms

• yağ

Kalasha

Determiner

may

1. my

Pronoun

may

1. me

Mapudungun

Adverb

may (Raguileo spelling)

1. yes

References

• Wixaleyiñ: Mapucezugun-wigkazugun pici hemvlcijka (Wixaleyiñ: Small Mapudungun-Spanish dictionary), Beretta, Marta; Cañumil, Dario; Cañumil, Tulio, 2008.

Northern Kurdish

Noun

may m

1. intervention

Derived terms

• mayê xwe tê dan
• maytêder
• maytêderî
• maytêker
• maytêkerî
• mayê xwe tê kirin

Pacoh

Etymology

From Proto-Katuic *maj, from Proto-Mon-Khmer *mi[i]ʔ.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [maj]

Pronoun

may

1. you (second person singular pronoun)

Affixed forms

Quechua

Adverb

may

1. where
2. like, how, very

Derived terms

• maykama
• mayman
• maymanta
• maypi

See also

• may may

Pronoun

may

1. (interrogative pronoun) which

Verb

may

1. (transitive) to fear

Conjugation

Tagalog

Alternative forms

• mey, me — nonstandard

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /maj/, [maɪ̯]

• (colloquial) IPA^(key): /ˈme/, [ˈmɛ]

• (Batangas) IPA^(key): /ˈmej/, [ˈmɛɪ̯]

Particle

may (Baybayin spelling ᜋᜌ᜔)

1. particle used as an existential marker: to be; to have

   Synonyms: mayroon, meron

   Antonym: wala

Usage notes

• May is used immediately after the thing possessed or existing, whereas mayroon can be separated by enclitics (e.g. lang, kaya, and ako). Sentences like *may ako pagkain would be ungrammatical.

Derived terms

See also

• may-

Preposition

may (Baybayin spelling ᜋᜌ᜔)

1. used after sa: by; around; near

Further reading

• “may”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, Manila, 2018

Tat

Etymology

Cognate with Persian مادر (mâdar).

Noun

may

1. mother

Tatar

Alternative forms

• май (may)

Noun

may

1. May (Month of the Year)

Declension

See also

• Previous: äpril. * Next: yün

Uzbek

Etymology

From Russian май (maj), from Latin māius.

Noun

may (plural maylar)

1. May

Declension

Related terms

• (Gregorian calendar months) oy; yanvar, fevral, mart, aprel, may, iyun, iyul, avgust, sentabr, oktabr, noyabr, dekabr ^{(Category: uz:Months)}

Vietnamese

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [maj˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [maj˧˧]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [ma(ː)j˧˧]

Etymology 1

Cognate with Muong băl.

Verb

may • (𦁼, 埋, 枚)

1. to sew

Derived terms

See also

• khâu

Etymology 2

Adjective

may • (𢆧, 埋, 𱜿, 𱝁, 枚, 𠶣)

1. lucky

   Synonym: hên

Derived terms

Etymology 3

Noun

may • (埋, 枚)

1. (now rarely in isolation) a cold breeze

See also

Walloon

Etymology

From Old French mai, from Latin Māius.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /maj/

Noun

may

1. May (month)

See also

• (Gregorian calendar months) djanvî, fevrî, måss, avri, may, djun, djulete, awousse, setimbe, octôbe, nôvimbe, decimbe ^{(Category: wa:Months)}

Source: wiktionary.org