Mailboxes

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A container used to receive and keep mail items such as letters and packages; a unit often placed at homes for mail drop-off; an assembly designed to hold postal deliveries until retrieved by the owner
2. Receptacles where postal letters and parcels are deposited for collection by the recipient
3. Storage units typically found outside homes or buildings for receiving delivered correspondence

Etymology: "Mailboxes" is the plural of "mailbox," a noun for the receptacle where letters and parcels are left for the recipient to collect. The word is a plain compound of "mail" and "box," so its history lies in the two parts rather than in any single coinage. "Mail" traces back to the Old French "male," a bag or wallet, and the idea of a bag carrying letters passed into English, which is why the postal service came to be called "the mail." "Box" is the older and more general word for a container, so a mailbox is literally a box for the mail.

Synonyms: postboxes, letterboxes, drop boxes