See Also: e-mail(encyclopedia)
mail(1)(dictionary)
mail(2)(dictionary)
mail(3)(dictionary)
mail(4)(dictionary)
mail(5)(dictionary)
mail(6)(dictionary)
mail(7)(dictionary)
Mail, The(dictionary)
mail(8)(dictionary)

mail(5) (iou)



mail noun3. ME.
[Old French male (mod. malle bag, trunk) from Germanic (cf. Old High German mal(a)ha wallet, bag, Middle Dutch male, Dutch maal).]
Orig., a bag, a pack, a wallet; a travelling bag. Now (Scot. & US) in pl., baggage. ME.
R. L. Stevenson He..emptied out his mails upon the floor that I might have a change of clothes.
A bag or packet of letters for conveyance by post; the postal matter so conveyed; all that is so conveyed on one occasion. Also, the letters etc. delivered at one place or to one person on one occasion. Freq. in titles of newspapers. M17.
Daily Mail, Oxford Mail, etc.
D. Hammett When I got the mail this morning there was a letter for him. M. de la Roche They watched the mails and no letter came from her. Z. Tomin I sent it out with the diplomatic mail.
A person or vehicle to carry postal matter; ellipt. a mail boat, a mail train, etc. Also, the system of conveyance of letters etc. by post; the official conveyance or dispatch of postal matter; the post. M17.
airmail, sea-mail, surface mail, etc.
L. T. C. Rolt The night mail from Paddington. P. Grosskurth The mail was good in those days. Alix Strachey received the letter on Jan. 1 1925.
Phrases: CERTIFIED mail. direct mail: see DIRECT adjective. electronic mail: see ELECTRONIC adjective.
Attrib. & comb.: Designating people and vehicles employed to carry mail, as mail boat, mail-boy, mail ship, mail train, etc. Special combs., as mailbag a large bag for mail; mail-box (a) Hist. a box in which the mailbags were placed on a mail-coach; (b) N. Amer. a box for delivery of mail; mail-car (a) a railway carriage in which mail is carried; (b) Irish History a jaunting car used for the conveyance of mail; (c) Austral. & NZ a motor vehicle used for the conveyance of mail (and also sometimes of passengers); mail carrier US a postman or postwoman; mail cart (a) a cart for carrying mail by road; (b) a light vehicle for carrying children, made with shafts so as to be drawn or pushed by hand; mail-coach (a) Hist. a stagecoach used primarily for the conveyance of mail; spec. a coach used by the Post Office for carrying parcels by road; (b) = mail-car (a) above; mail cover US the monitoring of all mail sent to a specified address; mail-day US the day on which mail is dispatched or received; mail drop N. Amer. a place where mail may be left to be collected by another person; mailman N. Amer. a postman; mail order (orig. US) an order for goods to be sent by post; mail-order firm, mail-order business, etc., a firm, business, etc., operating mainly by this system; mail-rider US History a mail carrier; mailroom a room where mail is collected, sorted, or otherwise dealt with; mailshot material posted to potential customers as part of an advertising campaign; mail-time the time mail takes to pass from one place to another.