chain mail meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

chain mail

noun

Etymology chain + mail; attested since the 1780s.

Usually A flexible defensive armor, made of a mesh of interlinked metal rings.

Chain mail is formed by a number of iron rings, each ring having four others inserted into it, the whole exhibiting a kind of net work, with circular meshes, every ring separately rivetted; this kind of mail answers to that worn on the ancient breast plates, whence they were denominated loricæ hammatæ, from the rings being hooked together.1786, Francis Grose, A Treatise on Ancient Armour and Weapons, page 11:
A few broken broadswords, a helmet and a couple of chain mails preserved in museums are all the relics of those far-off times.1947, Sergei Eisenstein, translated by X. Danko, edited by G. Ivanov-Mumjiev, compiled by R. Yurenev, Notes of a Film Director, Moscow: Foreign Languages Publishing House, page 36:

2 more examples

Chain mails were also sometimes attached to the back of Viking helmets to protect the neck.2004, Step into the World of… The Vikings, Bath: Grandreams Books Ltd, →ISBN, page 14:
They wore chain mails over simple brown tunics, war paint still covered their faces in simple streaks, and their long dark hair hung in pony-tails that wrapped about their shoulders or hung down their backs.2014, Saul Rip, The Rise of Shendoa (The Underworld Legacy Series), San Clemente, Calif.: Sourced Media Books, →ISBN, page 191:

noun

Etymology From mail.

Collective, Sometimes A chain letter.