mail

Etymology 1

From Middle English male, from Anglo-Norman male, Old French male (“bag, wallet”), from Frankish *malha (“bag”), from Proto-Germanic *malhō (“bag, pouch”), from Proto-Indo-European *molko- (“leather pouch”). Compare Dutch maal.

noun

1. (now regional) A bag or wallet.
   What, loo, man, see here of dyce a bale; / A brydelynge caste for that is in thy male! 1499, John Skelton, The Bowge of Courte
2. A bag containing letters to be delivered by post.
3. The material conveyed by the postal service.
   Don't forget to pick up the mail on your way.
   1823, The stranger in Liverpool; or, An historical and descriptive view of the town of Liverpool and its environs, Seventh Edition, T. Kaye, page 96, The following are the hours at which the letter-box of this office is closed for making up the several mails, and the hours at which each mail is despatched: ¶ […]
   1887, John Houston Merrill (editor), The American and English Encyclopædia of Law, Volume I, Edward Thompson, p.121, If he retains the account, and permits several mails to pass without objecting to it, he will be held to have admitted its correctness.
   The transfer by tender of some 1,300 mail bags was effected smartly, and the "Ocean Mails Special" train was ready at 9.19 a.m. 1944 July and August, Charles E. Lee, “The "City of Truro"”, in Railway Magazine, page 202
4. (dated) A stagecoach, train or ship that delivers such post.
   On the morning after the one-day strike, October 4, one of the Type 4s on crew-training, No. D169, was appropriated to head the 3 a.m. mail to Hull, as no steam locomotive had been lit up and the usual Hull Type 3 was not available; …. 1962 December, “Motive Power Miscellany: North Eastern Region”, in Modern Railways, pages 422, 425
   As he passed though the station, he slowed to yell to the signalman, Frank 'Sailor' Bridges: "Sailor - have you anything between here and Fordham? Where's the mail?" Gimbert knew the mail train was due, and he didn't want to endanger another train with his burning bomb wagon. January 12 2022, Benedict le Vay, “The heroes of Soham...”, in RAIL, number 948, page 42
5. The postal service or system in general.
   He decided to send his declaration by mail.
6. (chiefly US, uncountable) The letters, parcels, etc. delivered to a particular address or person.
7. (uncountable) Electronic mail, e-mail: a computer network–based service for sending, storing, and forwarding electronic messages.
8. A trunk, box, or bag, in which clothing, etc., may be carried.
   “Fetch me the little private mail with the padlocks, that I recommended to your particular charge — d'ye hear?”

verb

1. (ditransitive) To send (a letter, parcel, etc.) through the mail.
2. (ditransitive) To send by electronic mail.
   Please mail me the spreadsheet by the end of the day.
   There has been a crackdown on non-ARPA use of a local ARPA gateway, so I am reluctant to attempt to mail the file to ARPA sites. 1983, Donn Seeley, “Source for 'Grab'”, in net.unix-wizards (Usenet)
   Since .mp3's are so big (well for me with a 33.6kp/s connection they are anyway) maybe you should offer on your site to mail the file to people who want it, and have them request it, thus saving your web space, your upload time and their download time […] 1998, Michael Tomsett, “Re: Multiple postings?”, in alt.music.manics (Usenet)
   If you mail an attachment from one mail client then it does not matter if the receiver uses a different mail client. The mail you send should be able to be read from their mail client. 2003, Chrissy, “Re: Send mail with attachment”, in microsoft.public.excel.programming (Usenet)
3. (transitive) To contact (a person) by electronic mail.
   I need to mail my tutor about the deadline.
   I was horrified but my data was OK. Then, it saw it open my e-mail package and start to mail my friends. I turned the power off. 2000, Carlton Alton Deltree, “Whoever did this sucks...”, in alt.comp.virus (Usenet)
   'Yes, at Quantico. She was so excited by it, she sent all those emails, you remember I told you about it -' 'Yes, she mailed me from there too.' 2002, Jessica Mann, The voice from the grave, page 189
   He mailed me and said he had managed to hack into my email accounts. 2011, Rose Budworth-Levine, Intimate Encounters, page 41

Etymology 2

From Middle English mayle (“mail armor”), borrowed from Old French maille (“loop, stitch”), from Vulgar Latin *macla, from Latin macula (“blemish, mesh”), probably from Proto-Indo-European *smh₁-tleh₂, from *smeh₁- (“smear, rub”).

noun

1. (uncountable) Armour consisting of metal rings or plates linked together.
   "That's funny looking mail, Sire," said Eustace. "Aye, lad," said Tirian. "No Narnian dwarf smithied that. […] 1956, C. S. Lewis, The Last Battle
2. (nautical) A contrivance of interlinked rings, for rubbing off the loose hemp on lines and white cordage.
3. Any hard protective covering of an animal, as the scales and plates of reptiles, shell of a lobster, etc.
   We […] strip the lobster of his scarlet mail. 1716, John Gay, Epistle to the Earl of Burlington
4. (obsolete, rare) A spot on a bird's feather; by extension, a spotted feather.

verb

1. (transitive) To arm with mail.
2. (transitive) To pinion.

Etymology 3

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.

noun

1. (historical) An old French coin worth half a denier.
2. (chiefly Scotland) A monetary payment or tribute.
3. (chiefly Scotland) Rent.
4. (chiefly Scotland) Tax.