May vs Way - What's the difference?
may | way |
(obsolete) To be strong; to have power (over).
(obsolete, auxiliary) To be able; can.
*, II.3.6:
(poetic) To be able to go.
* 1600 , (William Shakespeare), (w, A Midsummer Night's Dream) , III.3:
(modal auxiliary verb, defective) To have permission to, be allowed. Used in granting permission and in questions to make polite requests.
(modal auxiliary verb, defective) Expressing a present possibility; possibly.
* {{quote-news, year=2011, date=October 1, author=Phil Dawkes, work=BBC Sport
, title=[http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_prem/15045630.stm Sunderland 2-2 West Brom]
, passage=The result may not quite give the Wearsiders a sweet ending to what has been a sour week, following allegations of sexual assault and drug possession against defender Titus Bramble, but it does at least demonstrate that their spirit remains strong in the face of adversity.}}
* {{quote-magazine, date=2013-07-06, volume=408, issue=8843, page=68, magazine=(The Economist)
, title=[http://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21580518-terrible-name-interesting-trend-rise-smart-beta The rise of smart beta]
, passage=Investors face a quandary. Cash offers a return of virtually zero in many developed countries; government-bond yields may have risen in recent weeks but they are still unattractive. Equities have suffered two big bear markets since 2000 and are wobbling again. It is hardly surprising that pension funds, insurers and endowments are searching for new sources of return.}}
(subjunctive present, defective) Expressing a wish (with present subjunctive effect).
* 1974 , (Bob Dylan),
* Prior
To gather may.
* 1922 , , VII, lines 1-2
(lb) To do with a place or places.
#A road, a direction, a (physical or conceptual) path from one place to another.
#:
#*(John Milton) (1608-1674)
#*:The way seems difficult, and steep to scale.
#*(John Evelyn) (1620-1706)
#*:The season and ways were very improper for his majesty's forces to march so great a distance.
#*
, title=(The Celebrity), chapter=4
, passage=Judge Short had gone to town, and Farrar was off for a three days' cruise up the lake. I was bitterly regretting I had not gone with him when the distant notes of a coach horn reached my ear, and I descried a four-in-hand winding its way up the inn road from the direction of Mohair.}}
#*, chapter=4
, title= #*{{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-22, volume=407, issue=8841, page=76, magazine=(The Economist)
, title= #A means to enter or leave a place.
#:
#*{{quote-book, year=1963, author=(Margery Allingham), title=(The China Governess)
, chapter=14 #A roughly-defined geographical area.
#:
A method or manner of doing something; a mannerism.
:
*{{quote-book, year=1913, author=
, chapter=4, title= *
, chapter=2, title= *{{quote-book, year=1959, author=(Georgette Heyer), title=(The Unknown Ajax), chapter=1
, passage=
*{{quote-magazine, title=A better waterworks, date=2013-06-01, volume=407, issue=8838
, page=5 (Technology Quarterly), magazine=(The Economist)
(lb) Personal interaction.
#Possibility (usually in the phrases 'any way' and 'no way').
#:
#Determined course; resolved mode of action or conduct.
#:
(lb) A tradition within the modern pagan faith of Heathenry, dedication to a specific deity or craft, Way of wyrd, Way of runes, Way of Thor etc.
(lb) Speed, progress, momentum.
*1977 , (w, Richard O'Kane), Clear the Bridge: The War Patrols of the U.S.S. Tang , Ballantine Books (2003), p.343:
*:Ten minutes into the run Tang slowed, Welch calling out her speed as she lost way .
A degree, an amount, a sense.
:
*, chapter=8
, title= (lb)
:
*
*
*
(obsolete) To travel.
* 1596 , Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene , IV.ii:
(informal, with comparative or modified adjective) Much.
* 2006 , , Volume 32, Issues 1-6,
(slang, with positive adjective) Very.
* 2005 , Erika V. Shearin Karres, Crushes, Flirts, & Friends: A Real Girl's Guide to Boy Smarts ,
(informal) Far.
As verbs the difference between may and way
is that may is to be strong; to have power (over) while way is to travel.As nouns the difference between may and way
is that may is the hawthorn bush or its blossoms while way is To do with a place or places.As proper nouns the difference between may and way
is that may is the fifth month of the Gregorian calendar, following April and preceding June while Way is christianity in translations of texts from the 1st century AD, notably the Acts of the Apostles.As an interjection way is
it is true.As an adverb way is
much.may
English
Etymology 1
From (etyl) , Icelandic mega, megum. See also might.Verb
- But many timeswe give way to passions we may resist and will not.
- O weary night, O long and tedious night, / Abate thy houres, shine comforts from the East, / That I may backe to Athens by day-light […].
- May' God bless and keep you always / '''May''' your wishes all come true / '''May''' you always do for others / And let others do for you / '''May''' you build a ladder to the stars / And climb on every rung / ' May you stay forever young
- How old may Phillis be, you ask.
Usage notes
* (term) is now a defective verb. It has no infinitive, no past participle, and no future tense. Forms of (to be allowed to) are used to replace these missing tenses. * The simple past (both indicative and subjunctive) of (may) is (might) * The present tense is negated as (may) (not), which can be contracted to (term, mayn't), although this is old-fashioned; the simple past is negated as (might) (not), which can be contracted to (term, mightn't). * (term) has archaic second-person singular present indicative forms (mayest) and (mayst). * Usage of this word in the sense of (possibly) is considered incorrect by some speakers and writers, as it blurs the meaning of the word in the sense have permission to . These speakers and writers prefer to use the word (might) instead. * Wishes are often cast in the imperative rather than the subjunctive mood, not using the word (may), as in Have a great day!'' rather than ''May you have a great day .Synonyms
* (have permission to) can, could, might * (possibly) could, might * (in subjunctive) mightDerived terms
* as the case may be * be it as it may, be that as it may, be this as it may * come what may * devil-may-care * if I may * I may not but * it may well with, may well with * let the chips fall where they may * may as well * maybe * may chance * may-fall * may-fortune * mayhap * mayhappen * may I? * may-issue * mayn't * may you live in interesting times * that is as may be, that's as may be * * what-you-may-call-itSee also
*Etymology 2
(etyl) mai, so called because it blossoms in (May).Derived terms
* *Verb
(en verb)- In valleys green and still / Where lovers wander maying
Statistics
*way
English
(wikipedia way)Etymology 1
From (etyl) wei, wai, weighe, from (etyl) .Alternative forms
* waye (obsolete)Noun
(en noun)Mr. Pratt's Patients, passage=I was on my way to the door, but all at once, through the fog in my head, I began to sight one reef that I hadn't paid any attention to afore.}}
Snakes and ladders, passage=Risk is everywhere.
citation, passage=Just under the ceiling there were three lunette windows, heavily barred and blacked out in the normal way by centuries of grime. Their bases were on a level with the pavement outside, a narrow way which was several feet lower than the road behind the house.}}
Lord Stranleigh Abroad, passage=“[…] That woman is stark mad, Lord Stranleigh.
The Mirror and the Lamp, passage=She was a fat, round little woman, richly apparelled in velvet and lace, […]; and the way' she laughed, cackling like a hen, the ' way she talked to the waiters and the maid,
citation, passage=An artificial kidney these days still means a refrigerator-sized dialysis machine. Such devices mimic the way real kidneys cleanse blood and eject impurities and surplus water as urine.}}
Mr. Pratt's Patients, passage=That concertina was a wonder in its way . The handles that was on it first was wore out long ago, and he'd made new ones of braided rope yarn. And the bellows was patched in more places than a cranberry picker's overalls.}}
Quotations
* (path or direction) "Do you know the way to San Jose?" [Hyponyms
* See alsoDerived terms
* by way of * by the way * change one's ways * come one's way * either way * every which way * give way * go all the way * go out of one's way * have it both ways * in a way * in the way * in the way of * have a way with * have one's way * have one's wicked way * know one's way around * lose one's way * no way * no way to treat a lady * on the way * one way or another * right of way * runway * slipway * taxiway * the way things are * the way to a man's heart is through his stomach * wayfinding * way in * way of all flesh * Way of the Cross * way of the world / ways of the world * way of life * way off * way out * waybill * way to goVerb
(en verb)- on a time as they together way'd , / He made him open chalenge [...].
Statistics
*Etymology 2
Apheresis of (m).Alternative forms
* (dated)Adverb
(-)- I'm way too tired to do that.
- I'm a way better singer than she.
page 132,
- It turns out that's way more gain than you need for a keyboard, but you don't have to use all of it to benefit from the sonic characteristics.
- I'm way tired
- String theory is way cool, except for the math.
page 16,
- With all the way cool boys out there, what if you don't recognize them because you don't know what to look for? Or, what if you have a chance to pick a perfect Prince and you end up with a yucky Frog instead?
- I used to live way over there.
- The farmhouse is way down the bottom of the hill.