Source : Wright, Joseph English Dialect Dictionary
web : https://eddonline4-proj.uibk.ac.at/edd/main.html

MAY, v.1 Irel. Yks. Wor. Shr. Glo. Oxf. [mē, meə;
unstressed mə.] 1. In phr. (1) may I never or I may never
if, (2) may I never stir, a strong protestation used to give
force to any statement.
(1) Ir. May I never, but this is the first I heard of it (A.S.-P.);
That I may never, if a finer swaddy ever crossed my hands,
Carleton Fardorougha (1848) i. (2) N.I.1, w.Yks. (J.W.)
2. Might.
s.Wor. He may have told me, but he didn't (H.K.); You may't,
or you might, Porson Quaint Wds. (1875) 21. Shr.1 ‘May’ for
‘might’ is of gen. usage ─ people considerably higher in rank than
the peasantry employ it. ‘I may have known what was going to
happen,’ ‘I may a done it, if I'd ony thought,’ Introd. 66. Glo.1
If I'd aheard in time, I may have come yesterday. Oxf. (G.O.)
---
MAY, sb.1 and v.2 Var. dial. uses in Sc. Irel. and Eng.
Also in forms ma-; Wm.; maay Brks.1 [mē, meə.] 1. sb.
In comb. (1) May-bee, (2) May-beetle or May-bittle, the cockchafer;
(3) May-birchers, (4) May-birches, obs., see below; (5) May-bird, (a) the
whimbrel, Numenius phaeopus; (b) a person born in May;
(6) May-bug, see (2); (7) May-cat, (8) May-chate or May-chet, a kitten born
in May; also used fig. of children; (9) May-cross, see below;
(10) May-curlew, see (5, a); (11) May-day, (a) the 1st of May;
(b) to do the spring house-cleaning; to do any extra
cleaning; (12) May-dew, in phr. (12) to wash one's face in May-dew,
see below; (13) May-eve, the last day of April; (14) May-fire, the
Beltane fire of May-day; (15) May-fish, a fish found in the
Severn at certain times of the year; also called Twait
(q.v.); (16) May-fool, see (20); (17) May-fowl, see (5, a); (18)
May-garland, a garland of flowers carried by children from
house to house on May morning; (19) May-gobs, a period of
cold weather occurring about the second week in May;
(20) May-gosling or May-gesling, a person befooled on the 1st of
May, an ‘April fool’; a silly person, a dupe, blockhead;
(21) May-gosling day, see (11, a); (22) May-hill, the month of May,
a trying time for invalids; (23) May-horn, a horn blown
by boys on the 1st of May; (24) May-jack, see (5, a); (25)
May-kitten, see (8); (26) May-lamb, a child's name for a lamb;
(27) May-month, the month of May; (28) May-music, see below;
(29) May-puddock, a young frog; (30) May-rolling, a merrymaking
held on May 29; (31) May-sick, of barley, &c.: unhealthy,
yellow in May; (32) May-sickness, the unhealthy appearance
of a crop of barley, &c., yellow in May; (33) May-singers, (34)
May-singing, (35) May-song, see below; (36) May-water, see (12);
(37) May-whaap, see (5, a).
(1) Cor.1 Cor.2 (2) Glo.1, Hmp.1 Wil. Britton Beauties 1825;
Wil.1 Wil.2, (3, 4) Chs.1 May birches were branches of var. kinds of
trees fastened over the doors of houses and on the chimneys on
the eve of May Day. They were fixed up by parties of young
men, called May Birchers, who went round for the purpose, and
were intended to be symbolical of the character of the inmates.
Some were complimentary in their meanings, others were grossly
offensive; and they sometimes gave rise to much ill-feeling in
rural districts. (5, a) Heb., Ir. [So called] because they appear
in the month of May in greater numbers than at other times,
Swainson Birds (1885) 200. e.An. (R.H.H.), e.An.1 Nrf. One
or two whimbrel or ‘May birds,’ as the gunners call them, Cornh.
Mag. (Mar. 1899) 317; Swainson Birds Hmp. Now and again a
whimbrel, or May-bird, flew overhead, Cornh. Mag. (Apr. 1893)
368. Cor.1 Cor.2 (b) Sc. May-birds are ay wanton (Jam.). (6) Nhp.1
So called from gen. making its first appearance in May. War.
(J.R.W.), Glo.1, Ken.1 Ken.2, Sur.1, Sus.1 e.Sus. Holloway. Hmp.
White Selborne (1789) 288, ed. 1853. Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873).
w.Som.1 Not so common as Oak-web (q.v.). (7) Nhb.1 Dur. It is
believed that a cat born in the month of May will suck the breath
of a baby in the cradle if the opportunity offers, Flk-Lore Rec.
(1879) II. 205. e.Dur.1 Nobody will keep a May-cat. (8) s.Pem.
They are supposed to bring adders into the house, Laws Little Eng.
(1888) 421. Cor. Children born in the month of May are called
‘May chets,’ and kittens cast in May are invariably destroyed, for ─
‘May chets Bad luck begets,’ Hunt Pop. Rom. w.Engl. (1865) 430,
ed. 1896. (9) Oxf. An ancient custom is observed in this church
[Charlton-on-Otmoor], a cross of evergreens and flowers being
annually placed on the top of the loft where the great Rood once
stood, and here it remains all the year round. Every May Day
the village girls dressed in white bring the ‘May Cross’ to the
church in procession, Murray Handbk. (1894) 95. (10) Ir. Swainson
Birds (11, a) nw.Der.1 sw.Lin.1 Old May Day, 13th May, from
which the annual hiring of farm servants is reckoned. ‘She'll be
home this Mayda' week.’ ‘May Day's the unsettledst time there is.’
Nhp.1, Hnt. (T.P.F.) Nrf. Nine May-days out of ten are distinguished
by abominable and frigid weather, Haggard Farmer's Year (1898)
vii. (b) n.Lin.1 I can't begin to maaydaay th' cupboards oot to-daay
for I've gotten my best frock on. I mun hev that there room maaydaayed
oot, an' a fire in it. (12) Sc. (A.W.) Nhb.1 On the first of
May young people go out into the fields, before breakfast, to wash
their faces in May dew. Oxf. It was formerly believed by many, that
if they got up early on May-morning and washed their faces with
May-dew they would possess a rosy complexion (G.O.). (13) Don.
Flk-Lore Jrn. (1884) II. 90. w.Cy. One superstition, peculiar to the
month of May, is common... Over many a cottage door you see a
neatly cut cross, St. Andrew's or Latin, of birch wood, or in some
cases a bunch of birch twigs only. If you ask the meaning thereof,
you will be told that they are put up upon May Eve ‘to keep off the
witches’; also that they may be taken down at any time during
the month, although they generally remain up until the following
spring, Longman's Mag. (Apr. 1898) 547. (14) Dev., Cor. ‘Mayfires’
were long numbered amongst the sports of May-day, Bray
Desc. Tamar and Tavy (1836) I. 325. (15) s.Wor.1, Glo.1 (16)
Som. Jennings Dial. w.Eng. (1869). (17) Ir. Swainson Birds (18)
Nhp.1 421-2. Oxf. The garland is gen. formed of two willow hoops,
placed transversely, and decorated with leaves and wild flowers.
It is suspended from a stick, which is held at each end by a child
(G.O.). (19) Cai.1 (20, a) Sc. There was also a practice of
making fools on May-day, similar to what obtains on the first of
the preceding month. The deluded were called May-goslings,
Chambers' Information (ed. 1842) 616. Dur.1, Lakel.2 Cum. (J.Ar.);
Cum.4 There is still a strong prejudice against goslings hatched in
May; they are certain to be as unlucky as kittens born, or lads and
lassies married in that month. Wm. Think on neea body maks a May
geslin o' thi (B.K.). s.Wm. Yeel faind naa sic Magezzlins, wha'l
gee ye out to see that ugly creature, Hutton Dial. Storth and
Arnside (1760) 67. n.Yks.2 n.Yks.3, e.Yks.1 w.Yks.5 A similar practice
prevails on this as on All-fools' day, and the victims are called
‘May-geslings,’ 357. n.Lan.1 (21) n.Lan.1 (22) s.Wor.1 Er'll
never over-get Mahy 'ill, I doubt, poor wratch. Hrt. ‘He'll live
now, I think.’ ‘Yes, if he gets up May-hill’ (G.H.G.). Ken.1 ‘
don't think he'll ever get up May hill,’ i.e. I don't think he will
live through the month of May. Hmp. She'll mend when she's
up may hill. May hill's sure to try 'im a bit (W.M.E.F.); He
won't climb up May Hill, Wise New Forest (1883) 180. (23) Oxf.
Scores of youngsters, as usual, celebrated the advent of the month
of flowers in their own peculiar way by creating a most hideous
row with their May horns, Oxf. Times (May 5, 1900) 3. Brks.1
Made by boys from the rind of the Withy, wound round and
round; a smaller piece being wound also and inserted at the
smaller end. Cor.1 Sometimes parties of boys, five or six in a
party, will assemble under your windows, blowing tin horns and
conch shells, and begging for money. With the money collected
they go into the country and have bread-and-cream junket, &c.
An additional ring of tin is added to the bottom of the horns every
year. (24) N.I.1 Erroneously believed to be the young of the
curlew. (25) Cum.4, Hrf. (E.M.W.), Som. (W.F.R.) (26) Dur.1
(27) n.Lin.1 ‘Cohd, why it's not near as cohd as it was last maaymunth.’
I have never heard this compound formed from the name
of any other month. Shr.1 I al'ays think yarbs is best gethered i'
the May-month, they bin more juicy then than any other time.
Cor.3 (28) Cor. The first of May is inaugurated with much uproar...
At Penzance... the branches of the sycamore were especially cut
for the purpose of making the ‘May-music’ This was done by
cutting a circle through the bark to the wood a few inches from
the end of the branch. The bark was wetted and carefully beaten
until it was loosened and could be slid off from the wood. The
wood was cut angularly at the end, so as to form a mouth-piece,
and a slit was made in both the bark and the wood, so that when
the bark was replaced a whistle was formed, Hunt Pop. Rom.
w.Eng. (1865) 383, ed. 1896. (29) Lnk. Had your mouth as mim,
and grave us a May-puddock, Graham Writings (1883) II. 51. (30)
Som. A festivity at East Brent, the sport being to roll one another
down the knoll (W.F.R.). (31) Wor. (W.C.B.), se.Wor.1 (32)
se.Wor.1 (33, 34, 35) Chs.1 A day or two before the first of May
parties of young men go out in the early morning to the various
farmhouses singing a song in welcome of the ‘merry month.’
They are always spoken of as ‘the May Singers,’ and their song is
known as ‘the May Song.’ (36) Dev. Jist a leetle more may-watter
tü make 'e graw a bit, my dear! Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892) 141;
Dev.3 The dew which lies on the grass in the early May mornings
is said by the country folk to be an excellent beautifier of the
complexion. (37) Ir. Swainson Birds
2. Comb. in plant-names: (1) May-blob, (a) the marshmarigold,
Caltha palustris; (b) the cuckoo-flower, Cardamine pratensis;
(c) the globe-flower, Trollius europaeus;
(d) the celery-leaved crowfoot, Ranunculus sceleratus; (2)
May-blub, (3) May-bubble, see (1, a); (4) May-bushes, the lilac, Syringa vulgaris;
(5) May-daisy, the corn feverfew, Matricaria inodora;
(6) May-flower, (a) see (1, a); (b) see (1, b); (c) see (4); (d)
the greater stitchwort, Stellaria Holostea; (e) the arum
lily, Calla aethiopica; (7) May-goslings or May-geslings, the
catkins of the willow; (8) May-gowlin, the flax-leaved goldylocks,
Chrysocoma Linosyris; (9) May-grass, see (5, d); (10)
May-hay, see below; (11) May-lily, the lily of the valley, Convallaria majalis;
(12) May of the meadow, ? the meadowsweet,
Spiraea Ulmaria; (13) May-pink, the white pink,
Dianthus Caryophyllus; (14) May-spink, the primrose, Primula acaulis;
(15) May-tops, the upper part of algae, esp. Laminaria digitata;
(16) May-Tosty, the guelder-rose, Viburnum Opulus;
(17) May-weed or May-wide, (a) the wild or stinking chamomile,
Anthemis Cotula; (b) see (5); (c) the wild ox-eye, Chrysanthemum Leucanthemum;
(d) the wild beaked parsley,
Anthriscus sylvestris; (e) the oar-weed, Laminaria digitata.
(1, a) w.Yks.2, Rut. (J.P.K.), Rut.1, Lei.1, Nhp., War.3, Wil.1
(b) Nhp.1 (c) Lei. (d) Nhp.1 (2) Wil.1 (3) Wil. The flower
buds of the marsh marigold, Garden Wk. (1896) No. cxi. 77;
(G.E.D.) (4) s.Dev. (G.E.D.) (5) s.Not. (J.P.K.) (6, a) N.I.1,
Ldd. Don. On May Eve they pull bunches of the ‘May flower’
(kingcup, or marsh marigold, Caltha palustris), and put them over
the doors of their houses, Flk-Lore Jrn. (1884) II. 90. sw.Cum.,
Chs.1 Chs.3, Lin. (I.W.), w.Wor. Shr. It is still common... for the
children to honour May-day by coming round with posies of the
glittering flowersof Caltha ─ marsh marygold, as it is wrongly named.
Shropshire boys and girls call them may-flowers, N. & Q. (1893)
8th S. iii. 427; Shr.1 (b) w.Yks.2 Lan. Science Gossip (1882) 164;
Lan.1, Chs.1, Hmp. (W.M.E.F.) (c) Cor. (d) sw.Cum. (e) Lin.
(I.W.) (7) w.Yks.3 (8) Wm. For her he had collected the deepest
tinged May Gowlins that grew in the meadows, Lonsdale Mag.
(1822) III. 46. (9) Shr.1 (10) Sc. Twisting the red silk and the
blue, With the double rose and the May-hay, Maidment Garland
(1824) 22, ed. 1868. (11) w.Som.1 (12) War.2 (13) Dev.4 (14)
Rnf. (Jam.) (15) Nhb. Obs. Formerly used by kelp makers (R.O.H.);
The laminaria sheds its upper part in broken weather, about the
end of the month of May ─ this, when washed ashore, is known as
May-tops, Hodgson Hist. Bwk. Nat. Field Club (1892) XIV. 29, note.
(16) Dev.4 (17, a) Hrf. Upon the best lands we find the thistle,..
maywide, wormwood, and wild mustard poppies, Marshall
Review (1818) II. 278. Bdf. This is supposed to increase the Mayweed,
scratch-burs, etc., Batchelor Agric. (1813) 105. Hrt. Ellis
Mod. Husb. (1750) II. i. Mid., Suf.1, e.Suf. (F.H.), Ken.1, Sus.1
e.Sus. Holloway. Hmp.1 (b) Brks. Druce Flora (1897) 287. Bck.
Science Gossip (1891) 119. Hrt. (c) Suf. (d) Wor. (e) Nhb. A
sea-weed (a species of Fucus) used as manure, Reports Agric.
(1793-1813) 45; (R.O.H.); Nhb.1
3. Phr. (1) between the two Mays, between the 1st and
12th of May; (2) Queen of May, the primrose, Primula acaulis.
(1) N.I.1 (2) Bnff. The Queen o' May, in rocklay green Our
Currie braes adorneth, Taylor Poems (1787) 18.
4. The hawthorn, Crataegus Oxyacantha, gen. applied
only to the blossom, but sometimes to the tree also.
Lnk. Sweet-scented hawthorn! odour-breathing May! Nicholson
Idylls (1870) 192. Nhb.1 n.Yks. T'hedges is white wi' May
blossom, Tweddell Clevel. Rhymes (1875) 49. w.Yks.1, n.Lin.1,
War., Shr., Glo. Oxf. Applied to the tree as well as the blossom
(G.O.). Brks.1, Hrt., e.An.1, Cmb. Nrf. Trees white with may
bloom, Haggard Farmer's Year (1899) vi. Suf.1, n.Ess., Sus.,
Hmp.1 Wil. Britton Beauties (1825). Dor. Som. Jennings Dial.
w.Eng. (1869). w.Som.1 It is thought very unlucky, and a sure
‘sign of death,’ if May is brought into the house. Cor. When the
flowers be out, an' the May be 'pon the hedges, Pearse D. Quorm
(1877) I. 106; Cor.1
Hence (1) May-bread-and-cheese, sb. the leaves and
buds of the hawthorn; (2) May-bough, sb. a branch of the
hawthorn in full bloom; (3) May-bush, sb. the hawthorn; (4)
May-flower, sb. the blossom of the hawthorn; (5) May-fruits, sb.
pl. the berries of the hawthorn; (6) May-tree, sb. the hawthorn
tree.
(1) War.3 Eaten by children. (2) Sus., Hmp. Holloway. (3)
e.An.1, Nrf., e.Suf. (F.H.), Hmp.1, w.Som.1 (4) Cum. (5) Yks.
(6) n.Lin.1 Nrf. They may make fine may-trees, Haggard Farmer's
Year (1899) vi.
5. The young shoots of the sycamore, Acer Pseudoplatanus.
Also in comp. May-tree.
Cor. Young shoots of sycamore, as well as whitethorn, are known
as May, Flk-Lore Jrn. (1886) IV. 225; They... strip the sycamore
trees (called May-trees) of all their young branches, to make
whistles, Hunt Pop. Rom. w.Engl. (1865) 382, ed. 1896; Cor.1 Cor.3
6. The small-leaved elm, Ulmus campestris.
Dev.4 Trans. Dev. Assoc. XI. 137. w.Cor. N. & Q. (1855) 1st
S. xii. 297.
7. The laurustinus, Viburnum Tinus.
Dev.4 Perhaps only in mistake by the lower classes; still the
name is in use.
8. The white alysson, Arabis alpina. Som. (B. & H.),
Dev.4 9. The corn feverfew, Matricaria inodora. s.Not.
(J.P.K.) 10. v. To go very early in the morning of
May 1st, into the fields or woods, and gather boughs to
decorate the houses. e.Sus. Holloway. Hence Mayer,
sb. one who goes to gather boughs on May morning.
Cor. It is the first of May. Come along; perhaps we shall meet
the Mayers, Quiller-Couch Ship of Stars (1899) 79.
11. Obsol. To play at May-games. n.Lin.1 12. Of wheat:
to turn yellow in the spring. Also in phr. to go a-maying.
n.Lin.1 Wheat is said to go a maying when the growing crop
looks yellow about the middle of the month of May. ‘Th' wheät's
off a maayin' ageän to-year I see.’ ‘It's middle o' Jewne, bud I
see that wheat o' thine e' th' Crawtree cloäs is agaate o' maayin'
yit.’ Nhp.1 The generality of the crops of wheat look yellow in
the month of May; this is called maying, Hillyard Farming, 95.
Bdf. It is an old observation in this county that wheat which
mays, viz. turns yellow in that month, never mildews, Batchelor
Agric. (1813) 376. Hrt. All wheat should may or look yellowish
in April, Ellis Mod. Husb. (1750) III. i. Ken. Farmers' Jrn.
(May 12, 1828).
---
MAY, sb.2 Sc. Irel. Cum. In pl. meyen Wxf.1 [mē.]
A maid, maiden.
Sc. My bonny May, Vedder Poems (1842) 140; He's married the
may, Longman's Mag. (Jan. 1898) 243. n.Sc. But by there came
a weel-fair'd may, Buchan Ballads (1828) I. 48, ed. 1875. Per.
He saw a weel-faur'd May, Was washing aneath a tree, Ford
Harp (1893) 18; Twa barefit Mays were seen, Haliburton Horace
(1886) 20. Slk. To take this cunning may's advice, Hogg Queer
Bk. (1832) 164. Dmf. The bonniest may in a' Dundee, Cromek
Remains (1810) 153. Wxf.1 Blessed yarth amang meyen. Cum.
Bonny May Marye, Burn Ballads (ed. 1877) 55.
[He at last ensewit ane wther may, Hermyony, the
dochtir of Helena, Douglas Eneados (1513), ed. 1874, II.
139; Þe mai þat ȝee wald haue, Cursor M. (c. 1300) 3238.
OE. mǣg, a woman (B.T.).]
---
MAY, see Mae, sb., adj., Make, v.1
---
MAY, sb.1 Cum. Yks. Suf. Dev. In comp. (1) May-ball,
the guelder-rose, Viburnum Opulus; (2) May-bird, the whimbrel,
Numenius phaeopus; (3) May-shell, the common cuttle-fish,
Sepia officinalis; (4) May-weed, the wild or stinking camomile,
Anthemis cotula.
(1) Suf. Gurdon Memories and Fancies (1897) 42. (2) Cum.
(E.W.P.) (3) w.Yks. Ferguson Nat. Hist. Redcar (1860) 8.
(4) Dev. Phillpotts Sons of Morning (1900) 65.

Source : Century Dictionary web : http://triggs.djvu.org/century-dictionary.com/splash3.html