What is "maybe"

May \May\ (m[=a]), v. [imp. Might (m[imac]t)] [AS. pres. m[ae]g I am able, pret. meahte, mihte; akin to D. mogen, G. m["o]gen, OHG. mugan, magan, Icel. mega, Goth. magan, Russ. moche. [root]103. Cf. Dismay, Main strength, Might. The old imp. mought is obsolete, except as a provincial word.] An auxiliary verb qualifying the meaning of another verb, by expressing:

1. Ability, competency, or possibility; -- now oftener expressed by can.

   How may a man, said he, with idle speech, Be won to spoil the castle of his health!
   --Spenser.

   For what he [the king] may do is of two kinds; what he may do as just, and what he may do as possible.
   --Bacon.

   For of all sad words of tongue or pen The saddest are these: ``It might have been.''
   --Whittier.

2. Liberty; permission; allowance.

   Thou mayst be no longer steward.
   --Luke xvi. 2.

3. Contingency or liability; possibility or probability.

   Though what he learns he speaks, and may advance Some general maxims, or be right by chance.
   --Pope.

4. Modesty, courtesy, or concession, or a desire to soften a question or remark.

   How old may Phillis be, you ask.
   --Prior.

5. Desire or wish, as in prayer, imprecation, benediction, and the like. ``May you live happily.''
   --Dryden.

   May be, & It may be, are used as equivalent to possibly, perhaps, maybe, by chance, peradventure. See 1st Maybe.

early 15c., from (it) may be; see may (v.1) + be (v.). Still sometimes written as two words early 19c.

a. possible; uncertain. adv. 1 (non-gloss definition: Modifies a verb, indicating a lack of certainty.) 2 (''as a pro-sentence'') perhaps that is true (qualifier: expressing no commitment to a decision or a neutral viewpoint to a statement) n. 1 (context informal English) Something that is possibly true. 2 (context informal English) An answer that shows neither agreement nor disagreement. 3 (context informal English) A future event that may or may not happen.

adv. by chance; "perhaps she will call tomorrow"; "we may possibly run into them at the concert"; "it may peradventure be thought that there never was such a time" [syn: possibly, perchance, perhaps, mayhap, peradventure]

Maybe may refer to:

"Maybe" is a song recorded by English singer Emma Bunton for her second studio album, Free Me (2004). Written by Bunton herself and Yak Bondy, and produced by Mike Peden, it was released as the second single from the album on 13 October 2003 by Polydor Records. It enjoyed moderate success, entering the top forty on various record charts. The song contains lounge/bossa influences, and the music video was inspired by the style of Sweet Charity's "Rich Man's Frug". Bunton performed an edit of the song as her solo performance on the Return of the Spice Girls tour.

"Maybe" is the fourth and final single from Toni Braxton's third studio album, The Heat (2000). It was released in 2001.

"Maybe" is the first single off Ingrid Michaelson's fourth studio album, Everybody. The song was featured on the ABC medical drama Body of Proof in the episode " Society Hill", the sixth episode of the first season. It was also used in Season 4 of the USA network show In Plain Sight in the episode "I'm a Liver, Not a Fighter," at the end of " The Glades" Season 3 Episode 2, "Poseidon Adventure" and a Hair Cuttery commercial.

"Maybe" is a song with words and music originally credited to End Records owner George Goldner and "Casey". Writing credit was later transferred to Richard Barrett. Arlene Smith, lead singer of The Chantels, is believed to be an uncredited co-writer.. It was first recorded by the Chantels on October 16, 1957 in a doo-wop style with Barrett playing piano, released in December 1957, and climbing the charts in January 1958. It reached #15 in the pop chart and #2 in the R&B chart. It was subsequently described as "arguably, the first true glimmering of the girl group sound". Rolling Stone ranked it #199 on its list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

The song has been covered by many artists, including Janis Joplin, The Three Degrees (whose 1970 version became a top thirty hit) and The Shangri-Las. John Frusciante of the Red Hot Chili Peppers has performed the song in concert, as seen on the band's live DVD, Live At Slane Castle. The song is the only recording attributed to Jill Read (which is not a pseudonym for the record's producer, Dave Edmunds, and whose vocals were not manipulated in the studio to sound like a woman). Jill Read is in fact a girl named Gillian "Tawny" Reed born in Adamsdown, Ireland. She recorded three 7" singles in her short career. See Discogs https://www.discogs.com/artist/2557753-Tawny-Reed

The song made an appearance in the 2010 video game Mafia II, even though the game takes place in 1951 and the song was recorded in 1957.

"Maybe" is a song performed by all-female German pop group No Angels. It was written and composed by Pelle Ankarberg, Niclas Molinder, Maryann Morgan, and Joacim Persson and originally recorded by American- Norwegian pop singer Trine Rein, featuring strings by violinist Andreas Ljones. An uplifting rock pop song that features a heavy guitar riff sample, it incorporates an uncredited sample of The Beatles' 1969 number-one record " Come Together", while its lyrics revolve around relationship that is built upon contingence and hesitancy.

In October 2006, Rein and Ljones qualified for the Melodi Grand Prix 2007 with the song, the television show in which the Norwegian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 was chosen. It eventually finished the contest in the final round, losing to Guri Schanke's " Ven a bailar conmigo". The same year, "Maybe" was also recorded by the re-formed No Angels for their fourth studio album, Destiny (2007). Produced by frequent collaborators Twin from Redfly Music, it was selected as album's second single and released on June 15, 2007 in German-speaking Europe, where it reached number 36 on the German Singles Chart and number 62 on the Ö3 Austria Top 40 chart, becoming one of the band's lowest-charting single up to that date.

"Maybe" is a single from N*E*R*D's album Fly or Die and was only released in the UK, where it reached #25. It peaked at #31 in the Irish Charts. It has since been released in America after 2004. The song was featured in an iPod commercial which also promoted the song. The song features Lenny Kravitz on guitar and Questlove on drums.

The song was also a sample for Lupe Fiasco's song "...And He Gets the Girl," a nonalbum track that was released with the single " I Gotcha" from Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor and was later announced that the track will be a bonus track to commemorate the album's 5th anniversary.

"Maybe" is the second single from Jay Sean's second album My Own Way. It was originally scheduled to be released on 7 April 2008 but was postponed. The digital download was available on iTunes from 20 April 2008 and for wider release on 20 April 2008, the song physically came out on 28 April 2008.

The song reached the Top 20 in the UK Singles Chart, peaking at #19 on the week dated 4 May 2008. It was also Sean's most successful song in East Asia, where it reached #7 on the Japan Hot 100 Singles chart. It also reached #1 on the Japanese Airplay Charts. A Hindi version sung by Sean was released as part of My Own Way in India. A Mandarin Chinese cover version by Coco Lee has also been released in China.

"Maybe" is a pop song written by The Ink Spots and published in 1940.

"Maybe" is the third single from Sick Puppies' third album Tri-Polar, which impacted rock radio on June 22, 2010. A remix version was made for pop radio stations, and the official music video.

The song features a bright sound characteristic of post-grunge.

The song was featured as iTunes' single of the week on the week of December 18–25, 2010.

"Maybe" is a song written by Bill Rice and Sharon Vaughn, and by American country music artists Kenny Rogers and Holly Dunn as a duet. It was released in February 1990 as the fourth single from the album Something Inside So Strong. The song reached #25 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart.

Maybe is an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse. She was undefeated in five races in 2011 including the Group One Moyglare Stud Stakes and was awarded the title of European Champion Two-Year-Old Filly of 2011 at the Cartier Racing Awards. She was the winter favourite for the 2012 1000 Guineas.

"Maybe" is a pop song written by Kara DioGuardi, Enrique Iglesias, Steve Morales and David Siegel for Iglesias' 2001 album, Escape. Iglesias stated in many interviews that the song was his favorite track from the album Escape. In 2002, the album was reissued with two new tracks, one of which was a reworking of the song dubbed the "Mark Taylor Mix". This version changed the song from a rhythmic piano based ballad into a slower guitar driven song. This version of the song was released as the fifth single from the album. The song caused minor controversy when Britney Spears debuted a new song during her Dream Within a Dream Tour called "My Love was Always There" which featured similar lyrics to the chorus of Iglesias's Maybe as well as the same melody throughout the song. The single was released in November 2002 and became successful in UK, Ireland and New Zealand, peaking into the Top 40 in those countries.

"Maybe" is a song by Valentina Monetta. The song was released on March 14, 2014. It was chosen to represent San Marino at the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 in Denmark. This was her third year in a row participating in the Eurovision Song Contest. In Italian the song is called 'Forse'. This was, as Monetta said, her last time performing as a competitor at Eurovision Song Contest.

"Maybe" is the lead single from American singer Teyana Taylor's major label debut album, VII. The track features guest verses by American rappers Pusha T and Yo Gotti.