Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “May” come from?

May derives from Old French mai, from Latin maius, ultimately from the name of the goddess Maia in classical mythology.

Ancestry of “May”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1FrenchmaiMay
2Old Frenchmai—
3LatinMāius—
4LatinMaianominative feminine singular of Maius; nominative...
5Ancient Greekμαῖαmidwife; foster mother, nurse; good mother, dame
6Ancient Greekμήτηρmother; source or origin
7Proto-Hellenicmā́tērmother
8Proto-Indo-Europeanméh₂tērmother

Words derived from “May”

  • mayfly
  • mayweed
  • mayfish
  • maybush
  • mid-May
  • May
  • मई
  • May
  • May
  • Mei
  • Mei
  • မေ
  • মে'
  • May
  • মে
  • Mei
  • Mei
  • Mayu
  • Mei
Every word from Proto-Indo-European méh₂tēr →