An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/mögen

by Friedrich Kluge

mögen, vb., ‘to like, choose; may,’ from MidHG. mugen, mügen, OHG. mugan, earlier magan, pret. pres., ‘to be able, have power,’ Goth. magan; a common Teut. pret. pres. with the OHG. and MidHG. meaning, ‘to be able, have power,’ as it appears in the ModHG. abstract form Macht, and in the compound vermögen; AS. mœg (plur. magon, pret. mihte), whence E. may (pret. might). The Teut. stem, mag (mug), from pre-Teut. magh, is most closely allied to OSlov. mogą, mošti, ‘to be able, have power.’