Definitions for: May


[n] 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
[n] the month following April and preceding June
[v] expresses permission; "You may leave now"; "Can I have another piece of cake?"
[v] get to or be allowed to do something; "May I go to the movies tonight?"; "Can I have some ice cream?"; "We got to play video games all day long"



Webster (1913) Definition: May, v. [imp. Might] [AS. pres. m[ae]g I am able, pret.
meahte, mihte; akin to D. mogen, G. m["o]gen, OHG. mugan,
magan, Icel. mega, Goth. magan, Russ. moche. ?. Cf. Dismay,
Main strength, Might. The old imp. mought is obsolete,
except as a provincial word.]
An auxiliary verb qualifyng 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.


May, n. [Cf. Icel. m[ae]r, Goth. mawi; akin to E. maiden.
?.]
A maiden. [Obs.] --Chaucer.


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 micked the may. --Tennyson.

4. The merrymaking of May Day. --Tennyson.

Italian may (Bot.), a shrubby species of Spir[ae]a ({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 (Zo["o]l.), 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 (Zo["o]l.), 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.

Synonyms: can, Crataegus laevigata, Crataegus oxycantha, English hawthorn, get, might, whitethorn

Antonyms: may not, must not

See Also: Armed Forces Day, Commonwealth Day, Crataegus, Decoration Day, Empire day, First of May, genus Crataegus, Gregorian calendar, Gregorian calendar month, haw, hawthorn, May 1, May 24, May Day, Memorial Day, mid-May, Mother's Day, New Style, spring, springtime

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