Etymograph

English

maybe

Maybe comes from Middle English it may be.

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500it may be1
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1687maybe1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English maybe
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1687, John Dryden, The Hind and the Panther: “Then add those may-be years thou hast to live”.

Lineage

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500it may beWiktionary, English maybe
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1687maybeWiktionary, English maybe. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1687, John Dryden, The Hind and the Panther: “Then add those may-be years thou hast to live”

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Today it means

adv Perhaps, possibly.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “maybe”. 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 / Middle English it may be / maybe