# maying

Pronunciation: say "MAY-ing" /ˈmeɪ.ɪŋ/

## Verb

1. Present participle and gerund of may, in the old-fashioned sense of gathering spring flowers or celebrating May Day. — present participle and gerund of may
   - Simple: The -ing form of may, an old-fashioned verb meaning to gather spring flowers or celebrate May Day.
   - _They spent the holiday maying through the lanes and hedgerows._
   - _Young people were maying at dawn, returning with branches of flowering hawthorn._

## Noun

2. The traditional springtime celebrations and revels held to mark May Day.
   - Simple: The springtime parties and games once held to celebrate the first of May.
   - _The whole village turned out for the maying, with garlands strung between the cottages._
   - _After the maying, the young couples wandered home through dew-soaked meadows._

## Origin

Formed from May plus the suffix -ing, or from the verb may ("to celebrate May Day festivities") plus -ing.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/maying (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).