maye

verb

"maye" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“maye” is uncommon English (frequency #68,425 among 36,575 “M” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#68,425
frequency rank, English
36,575
“M” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Obsolete spelling of may.

Corpus desk

Index EN-maye · maye · English

maye · rank #68,425 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #68,425
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 36,575
  • PHOTO-FINISH McClendon

Nearest frequency peer: McClendon (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “maye”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “maye” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of May 6, 2026
Key facts for maye
PropertyValue
Headwordmaye
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
Letters4
Frequency rank#68,425
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “maye” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). maye lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

maye is uncommon English at frequency #68,425 among 36,575 “M” headwords, classed as averb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Obsolete spelling of may.".

No misspelling variants are generated for maye in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. Our dataset records no confusable match here, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct English form is maye, spelled M-A-Y-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Obsolete spelling of may.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 6, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "maye"?
"maye" is spelled M-A-Y-E.
What does "maye" mean?
As a verb, "maye" means: Obsolete spelling of may.
What language does "maye" come from?
"maye" is a English word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "maye", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list