Etymograph

English

may

May comes from Old English magan ‘can, to be able’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *megʰ-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*megʰ-1‘to be able’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(me)mógʰe1‘to be able’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*maganą1‘to be able’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*magan1‘to be able’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150magan1‘can’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500magen1
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1600may1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English may
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1600, William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream: “O weary night, O long and tedious night, Abate…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*megʰ-Wiktionary, English may‘to be able’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(me)mógʰeWiktionary, English may‘to be able’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*maganąWiktionary, English may‘to be able’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*maganWiktionary, English may‘to be able’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150maganWiktionary, English may‘can’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500magenWiktionary, English may
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1600mayWiktionary, English may. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1600, William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream: “O weary night, O long and tedious night, Abate…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *megʰ- ‘to be able’

main, mechanical, mechanism, mechanic, magician, mecha, mage, dismay, machinist, magus, 76 more

through Proto-Indo-European *(me)mógʰe ‘to be able’

might, 2 more

through Proto-Germanic *maganą ‘to be able, may’

mighty, yay, mightily, yayo, 3 more

through Old English magan ‘can, to be able’

mower, 2 more

Another origin of may

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEMaius
  2. Old Frenchc. 842–1400mai
  3. Frenchc. 1600–presentmai‘May (month)’
  4. Englishtodaymay

From French mai, so called because it blossoms in the month of May.

Today it means

verb To be strong; to have power (over).

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “may”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *megʰ- / may

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