mail´less

mail¹ «mayl», noun, verb, adjective.

–n.

1. letters, postcards, papers, and parcels to be sent by post: »

The postman rested his sack of mail on the ledge under the mailbox.

2. the system by which such mail is sent; post. It is managed in the United States by the U.S. Postal Service, formerly the Post Office Department. »

You can pay most bills by mail.

3. all that comes by one post or delivery: »

The morning mail is full of advertisements.

4. a train, boat, airplane, or person that carries mail: »

Most of us disdained all coaches except his majesty's mail (Thomas De Quincey).

5. U.S. the collection, dispatch, or delivery of postal matter at a particular time: »

the 10 o'clock mail.

6. Scottish. a bag; traveling bag.

–v.t.

to send by mail; put in a mailbox; post: »

He mailed the letter for his mother.

–adj.

1. of or for mail.

2. employed to carry the mail.

╂[< Old French male wallet, bag < Germanic (compare Old High German malha)]

Usage In American use, mail is more common than post. In British use, post is the ordinary term, except for def. 4 of the noun and some uses of def. 1 of the adjective, such as mail train.

mail² «mayl», noun, verb.

–n.

1. a flexible armor made of metal rings or small loops of chain linked together, or of overlapping plates, for protecting the body against the enemy's arrows or spears.

2. any armor.

3. the protective shell or scales of certain animals, such as the tortoise or the lobster.

–v.t.

to cover or protect with or as if with mail.

╂[< Old French maille < Latin macula a mesh in a net; (originally) spot, mark]

–mail´less, adjective.

mail³ «mayl», noun.

Obsolete or Scottish. payment; tax; rent.

╂[Old English māl]