Etymology 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.
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:
Open the Males, yet guard the treaſure ſure. Lay out our golden wedges to the view, That their reflexions may amaze the Perſeans.c. 1587–1588 (date written), [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire; London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act I, scene ii:
2
A bag containing letters to be delivered by post.
3
The (physical) material conveyed by the postal service.
Meronym: mailpiece
Don't forget to pick up the mail on your way.
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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
US The letters, parcels, etc. delivered to a particular address or person.
It should be in your mail today, unless the post office lost it!
5
Dated A stagecoach, train or ship that delivers such post.
All trains stop at all stations, with the exception of a few "local" stations near Mombasa and an odd flag stop or two usually missed by the mails.1950 April, Timothy H. Cobb, “The Kenya-Uganda Railway”, in Railway Magazine, page 263:
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:
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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.2022 January 12, Benedict le Vay, “The heroes of Soham...”, in RAIL, number 948, page 42:
6
The postal service or system in general.
He decided to send his declaration by mail.
7
Electronic mail, e-mail: a computer network–based service for sending, storing, and forwarding electronic messages.
Yahoo Mail has been providing mail service since 1997.
8
Email messages conceived in bulk (as with the analogous sense of physical mail).
You've got mail [old audio clip announcing new email in the 1990s-2000s]
Please look through those mails and confirm whether you received the one about scheduling.
10
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?”1819, Jedediah Cleishbotham [pseudonym; Walter Scott], Tales of My Landlord, Third Series. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to IV), Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne and Co.] for Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, […]; Hurst, Robinson, and Co. […], →OCLC:
Etymology 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.
1
To send (a letter, parcel, etc.) through the mail.
2
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):
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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
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):
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'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 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”). Compare maillot.
1
History, Human sciences, SciencesUsually Armour consisting of metal rings linked together.
The knight is laid in his mail, only the hands and face being bare.1853, John Ruskin, “Roman Renaissance”, in The Stones of Venice, volume III (The Fall), London: Smith, Elder, and Co., […], →OCLC, § LVII, page 73:
"That's funny looking mail, Sire," said Eustace. "Aye, lad," said Tirian. "No Narnian dwarf smithied that. […]1956, C. S. Lewis, The Last Battle:
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Under the sea-girt cliffs the shining ship was readied, laden with coats of mail, swords, and gleaming war harness.1961, Norma Lorre Goodrich, “Beowulf”, in The Medieval Myths, New York: The New American Library, page 23:
Nautical, TransportUsually A contrivance of interlinked rings, for rubbing off the loose hemp on lines and white cordage.
4
Usually 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:
There beryl, pearl, and opal pale, / And metal wrought like fishes' mail, / Buckler and corslet, axe and sword, / And shining spears were laid in hoard.1954 July 29, J[ohn] R[onald] R[euel] Tolkien, “A Journey in the Dark”, in The Fellowship of the Ring: Being the First Part of The Lord of the Rings, New York, N.Y.: Ballantine Books, published September 1973, →ISBN, page 412:
5
Obsolete, Rare, Usually A spot on a bird's feather; by extension, a spotted feather.
[T]he moorish-fly: made with the body of duskish wool; and the wings made of the blackish mail of the drake.1676, Izaak Walton, “[The Compleat Angler or The Contemplative Man’s Recreation: Part I […].] Fovrth Day.”, in Richard Le Gallienne, editor, The Compleat Angler, 5th edition, London; New York, N.Y.: John Lane, The Bodley Head, published 1897, →OCLC, page 116:
Etymology 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”). Compare maillot.
1
To arm with mail.
2
To pinion.
mail
noun
Etymology 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.
1
Historical An old French coin worth half a denier.