 4 definitions found
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
perhaps
adverb: by chance; "perhaps she will call tomorrow"; "we may
possibly run into them at the concert"; "it may
peradventure be thought that there never was such a
time" [syn: {possibly}, {perchance}, {maybe}, {mayhap},
{peradventure}]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Perhaps \Per*haps"\, adverb [Per + hap chance.]
By chance; peradventure; perchance; it may be.
And pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may
be forgiven thee. --Acts viii.
22.
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 mought is obsolete, except as a provincial word.]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 Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
22 Moby Thesaurus words for "perhaps":
blind guess, bold conjecture, conceivably, conjecture, feasibly,
guess, haply, hunch, imaginably, it may be, maybe, perchance,
possibly, rough guess, shot, speculation, stab, suppose,
supposition, surmise, unverified supposition, wild guess
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