\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 mought is obsolete,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.