mail

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   Letters and parcels sent and delivered through the post.

   The mail arrives at our house around nine every morning.

2. 2
   noun

   The system used for collecting and delivering letters and parcels.

   He decided to send the documents by mail rather than email.

3. 3
   noun

   Electronic messages sent over a computer network; email.

   I check my mail first thing when I get to work.

4. 4
   verb

   To send something through the post.

   I'll mail you the cheque tomorrow.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Mail has two unrelated histories. Postal mail came through French and is related to Dutch maal, “wallet” or “bag”; it first meant a bag or baggage, then from the mid-17th century the letters carried in such a bag, their delivery, and the postal system. Mail in coat of mail comes from Latin macula, “mesh of a net,” and originally referred to the individual metal rings or plates composing the armour.

From Middle English mal, male from Old English māl (“speech, contract, agreement”) from Old Norse mál (“agreement, speech, lawsuit”). Akin to Old English mǣl (“speech”). Related to Old English mǣlan (mell), maþelian (“to speak out, declare”). From *maþlą (“meeting-place”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *meh₂d- (“to encounter, come”), if so, related to meet, and moot.

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary