6 definitions found

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

May

noun

1: the month following April and preceding June

2: 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 [syn: {whitethorn}, {English hawthorn}, {Crataegus laevigata}, {Crataegus oxycantha}]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:

May \May\ (m[=a]), v. [imp. {Might} (m[imac]t)] [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. [root]103. Cf. {Dismay}, {Main} strength, {Might}. The old imp. mought is obsolete, except as a provincial word.] An auxiliary verb qualifying 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}, {maybe}, {by chance}, {peradventure}. See 1st {Maybe}.

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:

May \May\, noun [Cf. Icel. m[ae]r, Goth. mawi; akin to E. maiden. [root]103.] A maiden. [Obs.] --Chaucer.

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:

May \May\, noun [F. Mai, L. Maius; so named in honor of the goddess Maia (Gr. Mai^a), 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 mocked the may. --Tennyson.

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

{Italian may} (Bot.), a shrubby species of {Spir[ae]a} ({Spir[ae]a 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.

From U.S. Gazetteer (1990) [gazetteer]:

May, OK (town, FIPS 47000) Location: 36.61650 N, 99.74896 W Population (1990): 42 (34 housing units) Area: 0.5 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water) Zip code(s): 73851 May, TX Zip code(s): 76857

From U.S. Gazetteer Places (2000) [gaz-place]:

May, OK -- U.S. town in Oklahoma Population (2000): 33 Housing Units (2000): 27 Land area (2000): 0.179778 sq. miles (0.465622 sq. km) Water area (2000): 0.000000 sq. miles (0.000000 sq. km) Total area (2000): 0.179778 sq. miles (0.465622 sq. km) FIPS code: 47000 Located within: Oklahoma (OK), FIPS 40 Location: 36.616536 N, 99.749363 W ZIP Codes (1990): 73851 Note: some ZIP codes may be omitted esp. for suburbs. Headwords: May, OK May

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