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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

snail mail en · NOUN

Pronunciation

  • /ˈsneɪl ˌmeɪl/
  • (Australia) audio

Etymology

A retronym emphasizing postal mail's slowness compared to email.

Meanings

  1. (retronym, uncountable) Mail (physical material) sent in the post, especially as compared with email.
    • To send a letter by snail mail (the Postal Service), you must still compose it, and also print it out, unless you write it by hand or on a typewriter. 1993 November 9, L. R. Shannon, “Peripherals: MCI Mail Changes The Nature Of Letters”, in New York Times, retrieved 03 Apr 2014:
    • I came home to a mailbox stuffed with snail mail.
  2. (retronym, uncountable) Mail (postal service), especially as compared with email.
    • The official notice will be sent via both email and snail mail owing to legal requirements.

Deriveds

play-by-snail-mail

Synonyms

smail

Translations (22)

te తంతి తపాలా (postal mail) · ca correu ordinari (postal mail) · de Snailmail f Snail-Mail (postal mail) · fr courrier traditionnel (postal mail) · et tigupost (postal mail) · de Schneckenpost (postal mail) · is sniglapóstur (postal mail) · da sneglepost (postal mail) · nl slakkenpost (postal mail) · es correo postal (postal mail) · nb sneglepost (postal mail) · nl snailmail (postal mail) · es correo ordinario (postal mail) · it posta cartacea (postal mail) · nn sniglepost (postal mail) · fi etanaposti (postal mail) · fr courrier papier (postal mail) · sv snigelpost (postal mail) · gl correo postal (postal mail) · cmn 郵局遞送的郵件 /邮局递送的邮件 (postal mail) · pt correio lesma (postal mail) · ru по́чта (postal mail)