might-ben.adj.
/ˈmʌɪtbiː/, U.S. /ˈmaɪtˌbi/ A. n.
What might be; a (remote) possibility; (also) a person who aspires to some achievement, position, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > possibility > [noun] > unlikely
might-be1633
1633 W. Ames Fresh Suit against Human Ceremonies ii. 306 [He] bringeth meer conceits and might bees for proving Arguments.
1864 Atlantic Monthly Apr. 466 For no man is wealthy or wise or brave In that quencher of might-bes and would-bes, the grave.
1871 ‘G. Eliot’ Middlemarch (1872) I. i. xii. 208 Better than any fancied ‘might-be’ such as she was in the habit of opposing to the actual.
1891 W. E. H. Lecky Poems 99 He sought not far The ‘might-be’ in the things that are.
1907 J. Davidson Triumph of Mammon ii. i. 28 Ay, but an anarch on the throne invites A thousand might-bes.
1918 W. M. Kirkland Joys of being Woman xix. 223 In the parochial garden the pea is one to tease us always with its might-be and might-have-been.
1990 A. Duff Once were Warriors vi. 55 Jake's bent elbow on the outer door with sleeve rolled high to remind any might-bes and likelies what they were up against in terms of sheer muscle.
B. adj.
That might occur; postulated; (remotely) possible, potential.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > possibility > [adjective] > remotely
might-be1934
1934 R. Campbell Broken Rec. iv. 102 This was during the Douanier rage, when every painting-railway-porter was a might-be genius.
1941 L. MacNeice Plant & Phantom 26 A curfew..imposed Upon their might-be-wanderings; their might-be-applications For resurrection.
1956 W. H. Auden Old Man's Road With might-be maps of might-have-been campaigns.
1990 Economist 14 July 17/3 A might-be exporter.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2002; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.adj.1633