Mayday Comes From the French for Help Me
Mayday is the international distress call. It has nothing to do with May, and it is always said three times.
Mayday is the international radio distress call. It comes from French *m'aidez* or *venez m'aider*, meaning help me — chosen in 1923 by a London airport radio officer because it was clearly audible and understood by both English and French speakers. It is always spoken three times, so it cannot be mistaken for a mention of the word.
- A distress call. *Mayday, mayday, mayday.*
- Pan-pan — an urgency call, less severe. *Pan-pan, pan-pan, pan-pan.*
- May Day — the first of May. *A May Day parade.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | mayday | A mayday call. |
| Plural | maydays | Two maydays. |
| Related | pan-pan | An urgency call. |
| Related | SOS | An SOS signal. |
| Related | securité | A safety message. |
How it is used in a sentence
- Mayday is repeated three times.To avoid confusion.
- Pan-pan signals urgency without immediate danger.A lower level.
- SOS does not stand for anything.It was chosen for its Morse pattern.
Radio distress levels
- Mayday — grave and imminent danger, requiring immediate assistance
- Pan-pan — urgency, but no immediate danger to life
- Securité — a safety message, such as a navigation hazard
- SOS — the Morse code equivalent, chosen for its simple pattern
- Repeated three times — so the call cannot be mistaken for conversation
From French *m'aidez*, help me, proposed in 1923 by Frederick Mockford, a radio officer at Croydon Airport.
Does SOS stand for save our souls?
No. It was chosen in 1906 because its Morse pattern of three dots, three dashes and three dots is unmistakable. The expansions came later.
Why say mayday three times?
So it cannot be confused with a report of someone else's distress call or a discussion of the word.