مے

Urdu

Alternative forms

مَئے (ma'e)

Etymology

Borrowed from Classical Persian (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)

wine
liquor, alcohol
(poetry, Sufism) devotee, lover
مے کشو ― mai kaśo ― Devoted lovers

Synonyms

شراب (śarāb)

Derived terms

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

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