mail

The word “mail” usually refers to the system for sending and delivering letters, documents, and packages, or to the items that move through that system. In the past, this mostly meant written messages carried over long distances by riders or coaches. Today, it covers many kinds of physical delivery, including personal letters, bills, magazines, advertisements, official documents, and the large number of packages sent from online stores.

The word can also describe the act of sending something by post. You might mail a letter, a form, or a package. In modern English, people sometimes say “snail mail” to make it clear that they mean physical post, not email. Common phrases such as “junk mail” and “air mail” also use this meaning.

“Mail” has a second, separate meaning in history and fantasy writing. It can mean armor made from many small linked metal rings. This is often called “chain mail” or “chainmail,” and it was worn by knights and soldiers as protection in battle.

In everyday English, the postal meaning is by far the most common. If someone says “the mail came early,” they usually mean letters or packages were delivered. If they say “I need to mail this today,” they mean they need to send it through the postal system. Whether it refers to something arriving at your door or to a coat of linked metal rings, “mail” is a word with both an ordinary modern use and an older historical one.