Definition

(may, might, can, could, would, should, must, etc.; also with G1487 (εἰ) and its comparative, as well as with other particles) be

Etymology

the subjunctive of G1510 (εἰμί);

Where the KJV renders it

• + appear
• are
• (may
• might
• should) be
• X have
• is
• + pass the flower of her age
• should stand
• were

Every distinct English word the King James Version uses to translate this Greek term. The variety shows what readers in English receive across many different surface words — the same underlying word, scattered across the English Bible under different names.

What the first audience heard

A deep-dive treatment of this word is in the works. The featured chapter above carries the long form of what this word meant to its first audience.