may4 (ma)

i. [ Thei turned a-noon to flight, who that myght sonest, so that noon a-bode other. Merlin (E. E. T. S.), iii. 534. Ask me not, for I may not speak of it. Tennyson, Holy Grail. (b) To indicate po ibility with contingency. What-so-eer thou be seruyd, loke thou be feyn, For els thou may want it when thou hast nede. Booke of Precedence (E. E. T. S., extra ser.), i. 59. For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole. Mat. ix. 21. Things must be as they may. Shak., Hen. V., ii. 1. 23. I am confirm'd, Fall what may fall. Fletcher (and another ), Queen of Corinth, i. 1. Though what he learns he speaks, and may advance Some general maxims, or be right by chance. Pope , Moral E ays, i. 3. Let us keep sweet, If so we may , our hearts, even while we eat The bitter harvest of our own device. Whittier, Amy Went worth. It might be May or April, he forgot, The last of April or the first of May. Tennyson, The Brook. The young may die, but the old must! Long fellow, Golden Legend, iv. In this sense, when a negative clause was followed by a contingent clause with if, may in the latter clause was formerly used elliptically, if I may meaning 'if I can control it' or 'prevent it.' My body, at the leeste way, Ther shal no wight defoulen, if I may. (3) In conce ive clauses. Shak ., 2 Hen. VI., v. 1. 53. IMG:content-0352.png:[blocks in formation] Constant i us had separated his forces that he might divide the attention and resistance of the enemy. Gibbon. may2t, n. [ mey , a kinsman, person, mæg , m., a kinsman, = OS. māg = OFries. mech = MLG. māch, mage = OHG. māg, MHG. māc , a kinsman, = Icel. māgr , a father-in-law, Sw. måg = Dan. maag, son-inlaw, Goth. mēgs , a son-in-law, orig. a 'kinsman'; akin to AS. māga , a kinsman, son, man, to magu , a child, young person, servant, a man, = OS. magu , child, = Icel. mögr , a son, a man (> ME. mowe), = Goth. magus , a boy, servant, to AS. mæg , f., a kinswoman (see may3 ), and to mægeth, mægden , a maid, maiden (see maid, maiden); ult. from the root of may1, Chaucer, Franklin's Tale, 1. 690. have strength.] 1. A kinsman.-2. A per IMG:content-0353.png:[blocks in formation] may3 (mā), n. [ mey , a maid, māg , f., kinswoman, a woman, akin to māg , m., a kinsman: see may2 .] A maiden; a virgin. [Obsolete or Scotch.] Thow glorie of wommanhede, thow fayre may , Thow haven of refut, bryghte sterre of day. Chaucer, Man of Law's Tale, 1. 753. To hevyns blys yhit may he ryse Thurghe helpe of Marie that mylde may . Hymns to Virgin , etc. (E. E. T. S.), p. 128. But I will down yon river rove, among the wood sae green, An' a' to pu' a posie to my ain dear May . Burns , Oh, Luve will Venture in. Over the wretched? Shak ., As you Like it, iii. 5. 35. May4 (mā), n. [ mey , (c) To indicate opportunity, moral power, or the absolute power residing in another agent. As I shalle devyse zou, suche as the i ben, and the names how the i clepen hem; to suche entent, that zee mowe knowe the difference of hem and of othere. IMG:content-0354.png:[blocks in formation] An I may hide my face, let me play This by too. Shak., M. N. Ď., i. 2. 53. I might not be admitted. Shak., T. N., i. 1. 25. In this sense may is scarcely used now in negative clauses, as permi ion refused amounts to an absolute prohibition, and accordingly removes all doubt or contingency. (e) To indicate desire, as in prayer, aspiration, imprecation, benediction, and the like. In this sense might is often used for a wish contrary to what can or must be: as, O that I might recall him from the grave! May you live happily and long for the service of your Dryden, Ded. of Æneid. country. Certain as this, O! might my days endure, From age inglorious and black death secure. Pope , Iliad, viii. 667. That which I have done, May He within himself make pure! Tennyson, Pa ing of Arthur. (f) In law, may in a statute is usually interpreted to mean must, when used not to confer a favor, but to impose a duty in the exercise of which the statute shows that the public or private persons are to be regarded as having an interest. B. As an auxiliary: In this use notionally identical with may in the contingent uses above, in A ( b ), but serving to form the so mai = Pr. mai = Sp. mayo = Pg. maio = It. maggio = OFries. mai a = D. mei, Flem. mey = MLG. mei, meig = MHG. meie, meige, G. mai = Sw. maj = Dan. mai = Turk. māyis, Stow , quoted in Strutt's Sports and Pastimes, p. 454. The flowery May , who from her green lap throws The yellow cowslip and the pale primrose. Milton, Odes, May Morning. IMG:content-0355.png:[blocks in formation] His May of youth and bloom of lustihood. Shak ., Much Ado, v. 1. 76. 3. [l.c.] (a) The hawthorn: so called because it blooms in May. Also May - bush . But when at last I dared to speak, The lanes, you know, were white with may . Tennyson, Miller's Daughter. (b) Some other plant, especially species of Spirea: as, Italian may.-4. The festivities or games of May-day. It seems to have been the constant custom, at the cele bration of the May-games, to elect a Lord and Lady of the May , who probably presided over the sports. Strutt , Sports and Pastimes, p. 455. I'm to be Queen o' the May , mother. Tennyson, The May-Queen, Illusion or deceptive appearance. (b) [ cap.] Such appearance personified as a female who acts a part in the production of the universe, and is considered to have only an illusory existence.