couldmay
Couldmay is a term used in linguistic and theoretical discussions to describe a proposed fused modal auxiliary that encodes both possibility and permission in a single category. It is not an established category in the world's natural languages, but rather a discourse device in modality studies and some conlang (constructed language) grammars. The idea is to explore how a single form might simultaneously convey two related but distinct modal notions—epistemic or deontic possibility and deontic permission—under certain analytic assumptions.
The word couldmay blends could and may to signal its intended semantics: a modal element that combines
Grammatical behavior and interpretation
In proposed accounts, couldmay would function as a single auxiliary selecting the same verbal valence as other
Couldmay remains speculative and contested. It is most often cited in theoretical papers, cross-linguistic typology discussions,
See also: modality, deontic logic, epistemic modality, polymodal systems.