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Glite Dictionary
May 1

May 1

7 1.0
The first day of May that many countries celebrate as a spring festival or a workers' holiday
  • noun
translation icon : 1 de mayo
  • Many countries celebrate May 1 with parades and festivals honoring workers and spring.
  • season began on May 1
  • began on May 1

Examples

  • May 1 is recognized in various cultures as a day of festivities welcoming the arrival of spring.

  • We maintained active surveillance through May 1, but no cases occurred after February 23.

    Academic text (2012)

  • Received on May 1, 2012.

    Academic text (2013)

  • On May 1, the top eight candidates in each category will be announced.

    Academic text (2008)

  • Each eligible image must be submitted by May 1 in the format in which it was accepted.

    Academic text (2009)

  • Data essential to the study was collected between May 1 and May 30, 1988.

    Academic text (1990)

  • To get a free lunch, you must preregister before May 1, 2009.

    Academic text (2009)

  • The DDR plan was supposed to have been finalized and announced on May 1.

    Academic text (2004)

  • The first experimental SWT tube line, between Bogota and New York, went into service on May 1, 2017.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • The Treaty of Amsterdam, effective May 1, 1999, after Member State ratification, further emphasizes the importance of the environment.

    Academic text (2000)

Synonyms

May Day
vsMay 1
8 3.3

A festival on May 1 that celebrates the start of summer and workers' rights

focuses on spring festivals rather than summer arrival
First of May
vsMay 1
1 3.8

A holiday on 1 May that celebrates spring festivals and workers

is treated as a seasonal festival of spring rather than primarily a national holiday

Surface Forms

May 1 singular
May 1s plural

Morphology

May + one

The form 'May 1' is directly compositional: combining the month name 'May' with the numeral '1' yields the date 'the first day of May,' which a B1 learner who knows months and numbers can readily interpret. Date expressions of this type are cross-linguistically common, so the specific holiday meaning (May Day) or festivities can be inferred or learned from context once the date is understood.

Etymology

May 1 comes from old spring celebrations when people danced around a maypole and put flowers on doors to welcome the season. In the 1800s workers used the same day for big protests for shorter working hours, so today May 1 can mean either a 'spring festival' or a 'workers' holiday'.