Part of speech: noun, verb
Pronunciation: /meɪl/
Definitions
- The process of delivering written communications and packages by postal services involves physical items sent from one entity to another for various purposes
- A method of transmitting messages or goods through physical letters and parcels handled by postal systems facilitates personal and business interactions
- The transmission of written correspondence and items via postal services enables the conveyance of messages and goods between individuals or businesses
Etymology: Three separate English words share the spelling "mail," and the postal sense comes from the oldest of them: a Frankish word for a bag. Middle English "male" meant a wallet or bag, borrowed through Anglo-Norman and Old French from a Frankish term "malha," which goes back to a Proto-Germanic word for a pouch. Over time, "mail" came to mean the leather bag itself, and then the letters carried inside it. The other two "mail" words have quite different histories. Chain armour, the sense that ended up in medieval knights' gear, traces to Old French "maille" meaning a loop or stitch, ultimately from Latin "macula," meaning a mesh or blemish. The verb meaning to speak or declare comes from Old English "māl," meaning speech or agreement, borrowed from Old Norse "mál," which meant a lawsuit or agreement. Its link to "meet" and "moot" is possible but uncertain.
Synonyms: post, correspondence, letters, dispatch, delivery
Antonyms: spam, junk