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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 (gcide)

May \May\ (m[=a]), v. [imp. {Might} (m[imac]t)] [AS. pres. maeg
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 mought is obsolete, except as a provincial word.]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:
(a) Ability, competency, or possibility; -- now oftener
expressed by {can}.
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How may a man, said he, with idle speech,
Be won to spoil the castle of his health!
--Spenser.
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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.
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For of all sad words of tongue or pen
The saddest are these: "It might have been."
--Whittier.
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(b) Liberty; permission; allowance.
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Thou mayst be no longer steward. --Luke xvi. 2.
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(c) Contingency or liability; possibility or probability.
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Though what he learns he speaks, and may advance
Some general maxims, or be right by chance. --Pope.
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(d) Modesty, courtesy, or concession, or a desire to soften a
question or remark.
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How old may Phillis be, you ask. --Prior.
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(e) Desire or wish, as in prayer, imprecation, benediction,
and the like. "May you live happily." --Dryden.
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{May be}, & {It may be}, are used as equivalent to
{possibly}, {perhaps}, {maybe}, {by chance},
{peradventure}. See 1st {Maybe}.
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Can \Can\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Canned}; p. pr. & vb. n.
{Canning}.]
To preserve by putting in sealed cans [U. S.] "Canned meats"
--W. D. Howells.
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{Canned goods}, a general name for fruit, vegetables, meat,
or fish, preserved in hermetically sealed cans.


Can \Can\, v. t. & i.

Note: [The transitive use is obsolete.] [imp. {Could}.] [OE.
cunnen, cannen (1st sing. pres. I can), to know, know
how, be able, AS. cunnan, 1st sing. pres. ic cann or
can, pl. cunnon, 1st sing. imp. c[=u][eth]e (for
cun[eth]e); p. p. c[=u][eth] (for cun[eth]); akin to
OS. Kunnan, D. Kunnen, OHG. chunnan, G. k["o]nnen,
Icel. kunna, Goth. Kunnan, and E. ken to know. The
present tense I can (AS. ic cann) was originally a
preterit, meaning I have known or Learned, and hence I
know, know how. [root]45. See {Ken}, {Know}; cf. {Con},
{Cunning}, {Uncouth}.]
1. To know; to understand. [Obs.]
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I can rimes of Robin Hood. --Piers
Plowman.
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I can no Latin, quod she. --Piers
Plowman.
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Let the priest in surplice white,
That defunctive music can. --Shak.
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2. To be able to do; to have power or influence. [Obs.]
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The will of Him who all things can. --Milton.
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For what, alas, can these my single arms? --Shak.
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M[ae]c[ae]nas and Agrippa, who can most with
C[ae]sar. --Beau. & Fl.
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3. To be able; -- followed by an infinitive without to; as, I
can go, but do not wish to.

Syn: {Can but}, {Can not but}. It is an error to use the
former of these phrases where the sens requires the
latter. If we say, "I can but perish if I go," "But"
means only, and denotes that this is all or the worst
that can happen. When the apostle Peter said. "We can
not but speak of the things which we have seen and
heard." he referred to a moral constraint or necessety
which rested upon him and his associates; and the
meaning was, We cannot help speaking, We cannot refrain
from speaking. This idea of a moral necessity or
constraint is of frequent occurrence, and is also
expressed in the phrase, "I can not help it." Thus we
say. "I can not but hope," "I can not but believe," "I
can not but think," "I can not but remark," etc., in
cases in which it would be an error to use the phrase
can but.
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Yet he could not but acknowledge to himself that
there was something calculated to impress awe, . .
. in the sudden appearances and vanishings . . .
of the masque --De Quincey.
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Tom felt that this was a rebuff for him, and could
not but understand it as a left-handed hit at his
employer. --Dickens.
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Can \Can\ (k[a^]n),
an obs. form of began, imp. & p. p. of {Begin}, sometimes
used in old poetry.

Note: [See {Gan}.]
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With gentle words he can faile gree. --Spenser.
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Can \Can\, n. [OE. & AS. canne; akin to D. Kan, G. Kanne, OHG.
channa, Sw. Kanna, Dan. kande.]
1. A drinking cup; a vessel for holding liquids. --[Shak. ]
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Fill the cup and fill can,
Have a rouse before the morn. --Tennyson.
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2. A vessel or case of tinned iron or of sheet metal, of
various forms, but usually cylindrical; as, a can of
tomatoes; an oil can; a milk can.
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Note: A can may be a cylinder open at the top, as for
receiving the sliver from a carding machine, or with a
removable cover or stopper, as for holding tea, spices,
milk, oysters, etc., or with handle and spout, as for
holding oil, or hermetically sealed, in canning meats,
fruits, etc. The name is also sometimes given to the
small glass or earthenware jar used in canning.
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