mayhap

\MAY-hap\

adverb

: perhaps

You are not wrong—this word is a hybrid between maybe and perhaps. MAYHAP is by origin the conglomeration of the phrase "it may hap," but since maybe and perhaps are so widely used, MAYHAP immediately sounds like a bastard son."Hap" is a Middle English noun meaning "chance" or "fortune." "Maybe" obviously comes from "it may be," and "perhaps" is the product of "per"—meaning "through the agency of"—and, of course, "hap." I almost feel like I need to stop here. I could, but I won't.

So, who actually says MAYHAP these days without sounding like a one of those people who poorly fakes a British accent because it makes them feel more intellectual. Well, first and foremost, two dudes in Raleigh, North Carolina, who named their experimental funk band after this Middle English compound. In the extensive bio that appears on their website, they never quite explain why they settled on the name, although it came at the end of a string of other band formations like Mojo, Drifting Through, and Gambit. Gems. The bio is fairly colorful, using phrases such as "sun-deprived skies," "hone his chops," and "succumbed to the pressures of adulthood." Read more here. Their debut album is appropriately titled, "Might Could."

At the end of their profile, they close with:

"So come out to the next show. MAYHAP you'll like it."