Mail Names Letters and Also Armour
Mail is the postal system. A separate mail is the interlinked metal rings of medieval armour.
Mail is the postal system and the letters it carries, and also a type of armour made from interlinked metal rings. The two are unrelated. The postal sense comes from Old French *male*, a travelling bag — the bag named its contents. The armour is from French *maille*, a mesh, from Latin *macula*, a spot or mesh of a net. *Chain mail* is a modern term; medieval writers said simply *mail*, since the rings were the whole point.
- Letters. *The morning mail.*
- Armour of rings. *A coat of mail.*
- A bag (archaic). *A mail bag.*
- Blackmail — a separate origin. *Blackmail.*
- Old French — *male*, a bag. *The postal sense.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | Mail. | |
| Verb | Mailing. | |
| Compound | Email. | |
| Compound | chain mail | Chain mail. |
| Latin | macula | A mesh. |
- The mail arrived late.Post.
- A shirt of mail.Armour.
- The bag named the contents.Etymology.
Where blackmail comes from
- Mail here is a Scots word for rent or tribute
- Black mail was protection money paid to border raiders
- White mail was legitimate rent paid in silver
- The practice was common along the Anglo-Scottish border
- It has nothing to do with letters or armour
The postal sense is Old French *male*, a bag. The armour is French *maille*, from Latin *macula*, a mesh.
Are postal mail and chain mail related?
No. One comes from a word for a travelling bag, the other from a word for the mesh of a net.
Where does blackmail come from?
From a Scots word for rent. Black mail was protection money paid to border raiders, as opposed to legitimate white mail.