*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of might

From Middle English maught, might, miȝt, myght, from Old English maht, meaht, meht, mieht, miht, mæht (“ability, power; strength; virtue”), from Proto-West Germanic *mahti, from Proto-Germanic *mahtiz (“ability, power; f

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
adj

Mighty; powerful. · Possible.

noun

Power, strength, force, or influence held by a person or group. · Physical strength or force. · The ability to do something.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English maught, might, miȝt, myght, from Old English maht, meaht, meht, mieht, miht, mæht (“ability, power; strength; virtue”), from Proto-West Germanic *mahti, from Proto-Germanic *mahtiz (“ability, power; force, strength”), from Proto-Indo-European *(me)mógʰe (“to be able to, to have power”), from *megʰ- (“to be able”), corresponding to Germanic *maganą (“to be able, may”) + *-þiz. Equivalent to may + -th. Cognates Cognate with Scots micht (“might”), Yola mought (“might”), Dutch macht (“might, power”), German Macht (“might, power”), Luxembourgish Muecht (“authority, might, power”), Yiddish מאַכט (makht, “might, power”), Faroese and Icelandic máttur (“might, strength”), Danish magt (“power; force”), Norwegian Bokmål makt (“power”), Norwegian Nynorsk and Swedish makt (“power; force”), mått (“might, power”), Gothic 𐌼𐌰𐌷𐍄𐍃 (mahts, “ability, might, power”), and further to Irish smacht (“ordinance, regulation, rule; dominion, sway; control, discipline, restraint; fine, penalty”), Greek μάγος (mágos, “magician; sorcerer, wizard”), Lithuanian mėgti (“to like”), Belarusian моц (moc, “might, power”), Bulgarian мощ (mošt, “might, power”), Czech and Polish moc (“might, power”), Macedonian моќ (moḱ, “might, power”), Russian мочь (močʹ, “power, might”) and мощь (moščʹ, “force, strength”), Serbo-Croatian мо̑ћ, mȏć (“power; strength; potency; authority”), Slovene moč (“power; strength”), Ukrainian міч (mič) and міць (micʹ, “might, power”), Armenian մոգ (mog, “magus; fire-worshiper, Zoroastrian; astrologer; diviner, enchanter, sorcerer, wizard”), Persian مغ (moġ, “magus”), Sanskrit मघ (magha, “power, wealth; bounty, gift, reward”). See more at may.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Root classification mention*megʰ-ine-pro
  • Inherited-form mentionmaughtenm
  • Inherited-form mentionmahtang
  • Inherited-form mention*mahtigmw-pro
  • Inherited-form mention*mahtizgem-pro · ability, power; force, strength
  • Inherited-form mention*(me)mógʰeine-pro · to be able to, to have power
  • Cognate mentionmichtsco · might
  • Cognate mentionmoughtyol · might
  • Cognate mentionmachtnl · might, power
  • Cognate mentionMachtde · might, power
  • Cognate mentionMuechtlb · authority, might, power
  • Cognate mentionמאַכטyi · might, power
  • Cognate mentionmagtda · power; force
  • Cognate mentionmaktnb · power
  • Cognate mention𐌼𐌰𐌷𐍄𐍃got · ability, might, power
  • Cognate mentionsmachtga · ordinance, regulation, rule; dominion, sway; control, discipline, restraint; fine, penalty
  • Cognate mentionμάγοςel · magician; sorcerer, wizard
  • Cognate mentionmėgtilt · to like
  • Cognate mentionмоцbe · might, power
  • Cognate mentionмощbg · might, power
  • Cognate mentionмоќmk · might, power
  • Cognate mentionмочьru · power, might
  • Cognate mentionмо̑ћsh
  • Cognate mentionmočsl · power; strength
  • Cognate mentionмічuk
  • Cognate mentionմոգhy · magus; fire-worshiper, Zoroastrian; astrologer; diviner, enchanter, sorcerer, wizard
  • Cognate mentionمغfa · magus
  • Cognate mentionमघsa · power, wealth; bounty, gift, reward
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "root",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*megʰ-"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "maught"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English maught"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "maht"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English maht"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*mahti"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *mahti"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*mahtiz",
        "t": "ability, power; force, strength"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *mahtiz (“ability, power; force, strength”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*(me)mógʰe",
        "t": "to be able to, to have power"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *(me)mógʰe (“to be able to, to have power”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "suf",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "",
        "3": "-th",
        "nocat": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "+ -th"
    },
    {
      "name": "col-top",
      "args": {
        "1": "2",
        "2": "cog"
      },
      "expansion": "Cognates"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sco",
        "2": "micht",
        "t": "might"
      },
      "expansion": "Scots micht (“might”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "yol",
        "2": "mought",
        "t": "might"
      },
      "expansion": "Yola mought (“might”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "macht",
        "t": "might, power"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch macht (“might, power”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "Macht",
        "t": "might, power"
      },
      "expansion": "German Macht (“might, power”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "lb",
        "2": "Muecht",
        "t": "authority, might, power"
      },
      "expansion": "Luxembourgish Muecht (“authority, might, power”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "yi",
        "2": "מאַכט",
        "t": "might, power"
      },
      "expansion": "Yiddish מאַכט (makht, “might, power”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fo,is",
        "2": "máttur",
        "t": "might, strength"
      },
      "expansion": "Faroese and Icelandic máttur (“might, strength”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "da",
        "2": "magt",
        "t": "power; force"
      },
      "expansion": "Danish magt (“power; force”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nb",
        "2": "makt",
        "t": "power"
      },
      "expansion": "Norwegian Bokmål makt (“power”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nn,sv",
        "2": "makt",
        "t": "power; force"
      },
      "expansion": "Norwegian Nynorsk and Swedish makt (“power; force”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "got",
        "2": "𐌼𐌰𐌷𐍄𐍃",
        "t": "ability, might, power"
      },
      "expansion": "Gothic 𐌼𐌰𐌷𐍄𐍃 (mahts, “ability, might, power”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "ga",
        "2": "smacht",
        "t": "ordinance, regulation, rule; dominion, sway; control, discipline, restraint; fine, penalty"
      },
      "expansion": "Irish smacht (“ordinance, regulation, rule; dominion, sway; control, discipline, restraint; fine, penalty”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "el",
        "2": "μάγος",
        "t": "magician; sorcerer, wizard"
      },
      "expansion": "Greek μάγος (mágos, “magician; sorcerer, wizard”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "lt",
        "2": "mėgti",
        "t": "to like"
      },
      "expansion": "Lithuanian mėgti (“to like”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "be",
        "2": "моц",
        "t": "might, power"
      },
      "expansion": "Belarusian моц (moc, “might, power”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "bg",
        "2": "мощ",
        "t": "might, power"
      },
      "expansion": "Bulgarian мощ (mošt, “might, power”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "cs,pl",
        "2": "moc",
        "t": "might, power"
      },
      "expansion": "Czech and Polish moc (“might, power”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "mk",
        "2": "моќ",
        "t": "might, power"
      },
      "expansion": "Macedonian моќ (moḱ, “might, power”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "ru",
        "2": "мочь",
        "t": "power, might"
      },
      "expansion": "Russian мочь (močʹ, “power, might”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sh",
        "2": "мо̑ћ"
      },
      "expansion": "Serbo-Croatian мо̑ћ"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sl",
        "2": "moč",
        "t": "power; strength"
      },
      "expansion": "Slovene moč (“power; strength”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "uk",
        "2": "міч"
      },
      "expansion": "Ukrainian міч (mič)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "hy",
        "2": "մոգ",
        "t": "magus; fire-worshiper, Zoroastrian; astrologer; diviner, enchanter, sorcerer, wizard"
      },
      "expansion": "Armenian մոգ (mog, “magus; fire-worshiper, Zoroastrian; astrologer; diviner, enchanter, sorcerer, wizard”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fa",
        "2": "مغ",
        "tr": "moġ",
        "t": "magus"
      },
      "expansion": "Persian مغ (moġ, “magus”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sa",
        "2": "मघ",
        "t": "power, wealth; bounty, gift, reward"
      },
      "expansion": "Sanskrit मघ (magha, “power, wealth; bounty, gift, reward”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "maught",
      "maught#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "might",
      "might#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "miȝt",
      "miȝt#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "myght",
      "myght#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "maht",
      "maht#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "meaht",
      "meaht#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "meht",
      "meht#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "mieht",
      "mieht#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "miht",
      "miht#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "mæht",
      "mæht#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*mahti",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/mahti"
    ],
    [
      "*mahtiz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/mahtiz"
    ],
    [
      "*(me)mógʰe",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/(me)mógʰe"
    ],
    [
      "*megʰ-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/megʰ-"
    ],
    [
      "*maganą",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/maganą"
    ],
    [
      "*-þiz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/-þiz"
    ],
    [
      "may",
      "may#English"
    ],
    [
      "-th",
      "-th#English"
    ],
    [
      "micht",
      "micht#Scots"
    ],
    [
      "mought",
      "mought#Yola"
    ],
    [
      "macht",
      "macht#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "Macht",
      "Macht#German"
    ],
    [
      "Muecht",
      "Muecht#Luxembourgish"
    ],
    [
      "מאַכט",
      "מאַכט#Yiddish"
    ],
    [
      "Faroese",
      "máttur#Faroese"
    ],
    [
      "máttur",
      "máttur#Icelandic"
    ],
    [
      "magt",
      "magt#Danish"
    ],
    [
      "makt",
      "makt#Norwegian_Bokmål"
    ],
    [
      "Norwegian Nynorsk",
      "makt#Norwegian_Nynorsk"
    ],
    [
      "makt",
      "makt#Swedish"
    ],
    [
      "mått",
      "mått#Swedish"
    ],
    [
      "𐌼𐌰𐌷𐍄𐍃",
      "𐌼𐌰𐌷𐍄𐍃#Gothic"
    ],
    [
      "smacht",
      "smacht#Irish"
    ],
    [
      "μάγος",
      "μάγος#Greek"
    ],
    [
      "mėgti",
      "mėgti#Lithuanian"
    ],
    [
      "моц",
      "моц#Belarusian"
    ],
    [
      "мощ",
      "мощ#Bulgarian"
    ],
    [
      "Czech",
      "moc#Czech"
    ],
    [
      "moc",
      "moc#Polish"
    ],
    [
      "моќ",
      "моќ#Macedonian"
    ],
    [
      "мочь",
      "мочь#Russian"
    ],
    [
      "мощь",
      "мощь#Russian"
    ],
    [
      "мо̑ћ",
      "моћ#Serbo-Croatian"
    ],
    [
      "mȏć",
      "moć#Serbo-Croatian"
    ],
    [
      "moč",
      "moč#Slovene"
    ],
    [
      "міч",
      "міч#Ukrainian"
    ],
    [
      "міць",
      "міць#Ukrainian"
    ],
    [
      "մոգ",
      "մոգ#Armenian"
    ],
    [
      "مغ",
      "مغ#Persian"
    ],
    [
      "मघ",
      "मघ#Sanskrit"
    ],
    [
      "may",
      "may#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "adj",
      "glosses": [
        "Mighty; powerful.",
        "Possible."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "obsolete"
      ],
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    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Power, strength, force, or influence held by a person or group.",
        "Physical strength or force.",
        "The ability to do something."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable",
        "uncountable"
      ],
      "recordId": "d9e7ad9e816c9a57caa289326dde7a0c9b5db22d879c6ac14b50b9b9370e2065",
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  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
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    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
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}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
verb

simple past of may · Used to indicate a desired past action that was not done. · Used to indicate conditional or possible actions; would perhaps/maybe. · Used concessively to admit something before making a more accurate or important statement; although

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Old English meahte and mihte, inflections of magan, whence English may.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Inherited-form mentionmeahteang

This page abbreviates 2 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "meahte"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English meahte"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "meahte",
      "meahte#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "mihte",
      "mihte#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "magan",
      "magan#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "may",
      "may#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "simple past of may",
        "Used to indicate a desired past action that was not done.",
        "Used to indicate conditional or possible actions; would perhaps/maybe.",
        "Used concessively to admit something before making a more accurate or important statement; although"
      ],
      "tags": [
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        "form-of",
        "no-past-participle",
        "no-present-participle",
        "past"
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      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 147814
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    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 2,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for might →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-bWlnaHQ