English

might-be

That might be or occur; possible; potential; hypothetical.

    Etymology graph

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    • derived
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    Origin

    From might + be. Compare might-have-been, would-be.

    From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

    Lineage

    • partEnglishmight “Power, strength, force, or influence held by a person or group.”
      • inheritedMiddle Englishmaught
        • inheritedOld Englishmaht
      • suffixEnglish-th “Used to form nouns from verbs of action.”
        • inheritedMiddle English-the
        • inheritedMiddle English-eth
      • inheritedOld Englishmeahte
    • partEnglishbe “Used with past participles of verbs to form the passive voice.”
      • inheritedMiddle Englishbeen “to be”
        • inheritedOld Englishbēon
        • inheritedOld Englishġebēon
        • derivedOld Englishbēn “prayer, request, petition, favour, compulsory service”
        • derivedArabicبَان “ben tree”
        • derivedOld Norsebeinn “straight, right, favourable, advantageous, convenient, friendly, fair, keen”
      • borrowedRussianбэ

    Sources