mayst
2
9.9
To be an old poetic helping verb used with thou to show that something can happen
- auxiliary
- Archaic
:
puedas
- Thou mayst go now.
Examples
-
Speak softly, that thou mayst be heard by the wise.
-
Pray, speak thy truth, that thou mayst shine in the light.
-
If thou art patient, thou mayst achieve great things.
-
In dreams, thou mayst travel to distant lands.
-
Mayst thou find peace!
-
If thou art diligent, thou mayst earn thy place among the stars.
-
With hard work and faith, thou mayst see thy dreams realized.
Synonyms
1
9.9
To show permission, possibility, or a wish to one person using the old-fashioned form 'thou'
is the poetic rather than plain archaic second person form
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
The word mayst is an old second-person form of may used with 'thou', and the -st ending marks 'you' in older English speech. So when you see mayst in poems or the Bible, it simply means 'you may' or 'you might'.