mayday

Where does the word "mayday" come from? It comes from French m'aidez, and was adopted directly into English (1923).

Mayday’s story begins in French: m'aidez meant “help me.” Literally help me, chosen by a London radio officer as a distress call clearly heard over noisy radio. It reached English by 1923 as mayday. Adopted internationally as the standard voice radio distress signal. Today, mayday means an internationally recognized radio distress signal used in emergencies.

1. Stage 1 · French · 1920s m'aidez "help me", literally help me, chosen by a London radio officer as a distress call clearly heard over noisy radio.
2. Stage 2 · English · 1923 mayday "an international radio distress signal", adopted internationally as the standard voice radio distress signal.