English

maybe

/ˈmeɪ.bi/
Perhaps, possibly.

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    Origin

    From an ellipsis of Middle English it may be, equivalent to may + be. Compare mayhap.

    From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

    Lineage

    • surface analysisEnglishmay “To be strong; to have power (over).”
    • surface analysisEnglishbe “Used with past participles of verbs to form the passive voice.”

    Sources