English
May
May comes from Old French mai, from Latin Maius ‘Maia's month’, and ultimately from Maia.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEMaia
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEMaius‘Maia's month’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400mai
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500May
- Englishearliest quotation 1856same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEMaia
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEMaius‘Maia's month’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400mai
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500May
- Englishearliest quotation 1856same form
Earliest quotation: 1856, E. D. E. N. Southworth, The Widow's Son: “[…] I will not send Owen's Lily May to…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *méǵh₂s ‘big, great’
major, master, mayor, magnitude, magnum, maxim, magnate, magnify, mickle, mair, maggiore, muckle, mahila, 16 more
Another origin of May
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500May
- Englishtodaysame form
Today it means
name The fifth month of the Gregorian calendar, following April and preceding June.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin Maia / May