مے

Urdu

Alternative forms

• مَئے (ma'e)

Etymology

Borrowed from Classical Persian می (may, “wine”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *médʰu (“honey, mead”). Doublet of مدھو (madhu).

Pronunciation

• (Standard Urdu) IPA^(key): /məj/, /mɛː/
• Rhymes: -əj, -ɛː

Noun

مے • (may or mai) f (Hindi spelling मय)

1. wine
2. liquor, alcohol
3. (poetry, Sufism) devotee, lover

   مے کشو ― mai kaśo ― Devoted lovers

Synonyms

• شراب (śarāb)

Derived terms

• مے پرست (mai-parast, “wine lover; alcoholic, drunkard”)
• مے خانہ (mai-xānā, “wine cellar; bar”)
• مے فروش (mai-faroś, “wine merchant”)
• مے گون (mai-gūn, “wine-colored; dark purplish red”)
• مے کدہ (mai-kadā, “tavern, bar”)
• مے کش (mai-kash, “wine-drinker”)
• مے نوشی (mai-noshī, “wine-drinking”)

References

• “مے”, in اُردُو لُغَت (urdū luġat) (in Urdu), Ministry of Education: Government of Pakistan, 2017.
• “مے”, in ریخْتَہ لُغَت (rexta luġat) - Rekhta Dictionary [Urdu dictionary with meanings in Hindi & English], Noida, India: Rekhta Foundation, 2025.
• Platts, John T. (1884) “مي”, in A dictionary of Urdu, classical Hindi, and English, London: W. H. Allen & Co., page 1103