Look up 'May' in the OED, and the first usage that comes up is maiden or virgin. Separate entries for other May nouns.

This is a problem for anyone who has not studied older English word usage (all of us, except specialists!).
Words such as gwine, which shows up in slave songs, spirituals, minstrel songs, etc., is an old English word, its use probably stemming from the overseers of the plantations who often had little education of the kind received by the plantation owners.

There are many cant words as well, which have also gone out of usage or changed meanings.