may

aux.v., Past tense, might (mīt).

1. To be allowed or permitted to: May I take a swim? Yes, you may.
2. Used to indicate a certain measure of likelihood or possibility: It may rain this afternoon.
3. Used to express a desire or fervent wish: Long may he live!
4. Used to express contingency, purpose, or result in clauses introduced by that or so that: expressing ideas so that the average person may understand.
5. To be obliged; must. Used in statutes, deeds, and other legal documents. See Usage Note at can¹.

[Middle English, to be able, from Old English mæg, first and third person sing. of magan, to be strong, be able.]

may² (mā)
n. Chiefly British
The blossoms of the hawthorn.

[French mai, hawthorn, from Mai, May (so called because it blooms in May). See May.]

IN BRIEF: The possibility of happening.

What a day may bring, a day may take away. — Thomas Fuller, (1608-1661), English clergyman, antiquarian, wit, historian.

Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The noun has one meaning:

Meaning #1: 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
  Synonyms: whitethorn, English hawthorn, Crataegus laevigata, Crataegus oxycantha

---

The verb may has 2 meanings:

Meaning #1: expresses permission
  Synonyms: can, might

Meaning #2: get to or be allowed to do something
  Synonyms: can, get
  Antonym: must not (meaning #1)

---

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
1.
aux. v. - kan, vil (måske), må, have tilladelse til

idioms:

• may as well    kan lige så godt

2.
n. - [bot.] hvidtjørn, hvidtjørneblomst

n. - maj

idioms:

• may Day    1. maj (international arbejderfestdag), valborgsdag

Nederlands (Dutch)
kunnen, zou kunnen, zullen, moeten, mogen, mei, maagd, meidoorn, de lente van een mensenleven, Eerste Meidag, bloeiende takken voor Eerste Meiversiering

Français (French)
1.
aux. v. - pouvoir (exprimant la capacité), permettre

idioms:

• may as well    peut/pourrait tout aussi bien
• that is as may be    quoi qu'il en soit

2.
n. - (Bot) aubépine

n. - Mai

idioms:

• may Day    fête du travail, premier mai

Deutsch (German)
1.
v. a. - können

idioms:

• may as well    könnte(n) genausogut
• that is as may be    das kann od. mag schon sein

2.
n. - Mai

n. - Mai, der 1. Mai

idioms:

• may Day    der Erste Mai, Mayday (Notsignal)

Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - μπορώ, έχω την άδεια ή την δυνατότητα, μπορεί, είμαι ενδεχόμενος, πιθανός ή δυνατός, ίσως να
n. - Μάιος, Μάης

idioms:

• come what may    ό, τι και να γίνει, βρέξει-χιονίσει
• may as well    μπορώ κάλλιστα
• May Day    (εργατική) Πρωτομαγιά, σήμα κινδύνου

Italiano (Italian)
potere, maggio

idioms:

• may as well    tanto vale
• May Day    primo maggio

Português (Portuguese)
v. - poder
n. - maio (m), flor da idade (f)

idioms:

• may as well    fazer algo por falta de alternativa
• May Day    Dia do Trabalho

Русский (Russian)
май, расцвет, мочь, иметь возможность, праздновать Первое мая

idioms:

• may as well    вполне возможно
• May Day    праздник Первого мая

Español (Spanish)
1.
aux. v. - poder, ser posible

idioms:

• may as well    más vale que, quizá debería, ya que está
• that is as may be    puede ser

2.
n. - acerolo, espino albar, viburno

n. - Mayo

idioms:

• may Day    Primero de Mayo

Svenska (Swedish)
v. - kan, torde, får (lov att), må, måtte, skall, kommer att
n. - hagtorn, jungfru

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
1. 可能, 可以, 也许

idioms:

• may as well    最好
• May Day    国际劳动节, 五朔节

2. 五月, 可能, 能

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
1.
n. - 五月, 可能, 能

2.
aux. v. - 可能, 可以, 也許

idioms:

• may as well    最好
• May Day    國際勞動節, 五朔節

한국어 (Korean)
1.
aux. v. - ~일지도 모른다, ~해도 좋다

2.
n. - 소녀, 승산 없는 경주마

n. - 5월

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 5月, メイ
v.aux. - …かもしれない, …したかもしれない, …してもよい, …だろうか, …かもしれないが, …できるかもしれない, …するために, …であっても, …しないかと

idioms:

• be that as it may    それはともかく, いずれにせよ
• come what may    何事があろうと
• may as well    したほうがいい
• May Day    5月祭, メーデー

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(فعل) يمكنه, بمقدوره, بإمكانه (الاسم) صبيه, بكر, عذراء, زهرة‏

עברית (Hebrew)
aux. v. - ‮היה עשוי, היה מותר, היה אפשרי, היה יכול, ייתכן, אולי, מי יתן, הלוואי‬
n. - ‮עלמה, פריחה (ספרותית), תפרחת עוזרד‬
n. - ‮מאי - החודש החמישי‬

If you are unable to view some languages clearly, click here.

To select your translation preferences click here.

robinson may	May Birthday Flower
Rockport Cape May Sandals	Devil May Cry