might English · revision 1778

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=before 700|origins=ine-pro *magh-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /maɪt/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The noun is [[inh|enm|might]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995) [[inh|ang|miht|t=bodily strength, power; authority; ability]], earlier [[m|ang|meaht]], Anglian [[m|ang|mæht]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995)^(SOED 2002) from [[gem-pro|*mahtiz]],^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) a suffixed form from the base of [[may]],^(SOED 2002)^(Hoad 1986) from [[ine-pro|*magh-|t=to be able, have power]].^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2000)^(Klein 1966) Its cognates include [[ofs|macht]], [[osx|maht]], [[nl|macht]], [[goh|maht]] (modern [[de|Macht]]), [[got|𐌼𐌰𐌷𐍄𐍃|tr=mahts]] and [[non|máttr]].^(Barnhart 1995)^(SOED 2002)^(Klein 1966) The auxiliary verb is [[inh|enm|mighte]], [[inh|ang|mihte]], [[m|ang|meahte]], earlier [[m|ang|mæhte]],^(Barnhart 1995)^(AHD 2000)^(MWU 2024) the past tense of [[m|ang|magan|t=to be able]];^(AHD 2000)^(Etymonline) it is related to [[goh|mahta|t=could]], [[non|mátti]] and [[got|𐌼𐌰𐌷𐍄𐌰|tr=mahta]].^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Ability, power to do something; bodily strength; great power or dominion (Old English, before 700).^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Old English ''miht'' covered bodily strength, power and authority, resources and wealth, and also ability, capacity and knowledge;^(Etymonline) ''mid alle þine mahte'', “with all thy might”, is already in Old English.^(Etymonline) In Middle English ''might'' was used especially of the supernatural power of God and of a mighty work or miracle, and of military power, courage and violence;^(Etymonline)^(MED) the contrast of ''might'' and ''right'' also dates from Middle English,^(Weekley 1921) as in a song of about 1330, “For miht is right; þe lond is laweles”.^(Etymonline) From the late 14th century it could mean “potentiality”, translating Latin ''potentia''.^(Etymonline) The senses “bodily strength” and “efficacy, virtue” have become obsolete or poetic, and great power is now somewhat rhetorical.^(HTOED)^(SOED 2002) The alliterative pairing with [[main]], as in ''with might and main'', is found in Old English.^(Weekley 1921) The verb ''might'', originally a past tense of ''may'', was used at least from late Old English in present or future senses, as a weaker or more tentative ''may''.^(Etymonline)^(Collins 2023) In the dialects of the southern United States it occurs in “double modal” constructions such as ''might could''.^(AHD) The noun ''might-have-been'' is attested by 1848.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 700 – Old English ''mæct'', power.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * before 830 – ''mæhte'', past tense of ''magan''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * before 899 – ''mihte'', ''meahte'', in Alfred's translation of Bede.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * before 1325 – the noun spelled ''might''.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * c. 1330 – ''might is right''.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1387 – ''myghte'', past tense of ''may''.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1834 – ''a might of'', a great deal of (US regional).^(HTOED)

+ * 1848 – ''might-have-been''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # Great power, force or influence, held by a person, group or nation.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(MWU 2024)

+ # Physical strength.^(AHD)^(RHWU)

+ # Strength or ability to do something: ''with all one's might''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # Past tense of [[may]], expressing permission or possibility in the past.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(COED 2004)

+ # Expressing a condition contrary to fact: ''if he were older he might understand''.^(AHD)^(MWU 2024)

+ # Expressing a possibility weaker than ''may'': ''it might rain''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Used in polite requests and questions: ''might I ask who is calling?''^(AHD)^(COED 2004)

+ # Expressing reproach or a mild suggestion: ''you might have told me''.^(COED 2004)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[mightless]]

+ * [[almighty]]

+ * [[mightiness]]

+ * [[mighty]]

+ * [[might-have-been]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[may]]

+ * [[main]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ In many Southern varieties of American English ''might'' is combined with ''could'' (''we might could park there''); the American Heritage Dictionary notes that such “double modals” are unfamiliar to most Americans and best avoided in formal writing.^(AHD) Random House lists ''might'' as a synonym of [[strength]], with ''weakness'' as its opposite.^(RHWU)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}