# email

Pronunciation: say "EE-mayl" US /ˈiˌmeɪl/, UK /ˈiːmeɪl/

## Noun

1. A message sent from one person to another through an email system, or such messages considered together.
   - Simple: A message sent by email. It can also mean all the messages you send or get this way.
   - _The manager sent an email to the whole team about the schedule change._
   - _Hundreds of emails flooded the support inbox after the outage._
2. A system for sending messages and data between computers connected in a network.
   - Simple: A way to send messages and files between computers or phones over a network, usually the internet.
   - _Email has largely replaced printed memos in most offices._
   - _The company still relies on email for all official announcements._
4. Someone's address for receiving email; an informal shorthand for email address. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: A short, casual way of saying email address: the address where someone gets messages.
   - _He gave the receptionist his email instead of a phone number._
   - _Make sure your email is spelled correctly on the application._

## Verb

3. To send a message, document, or file to someone by email; also, to write and send emails.
   - Simple: To send someone a message or file by email, or to write and send emails.
   - _Please email the supplier and ask about the delayed shipment._
   - _A recruiter emailed her about an opening at the firm._

## Noun

5. Enamel; a hard, opaque, glossy coating fused onto a surface such as metal or pottery. *(obsolete)* (pronounced: say "e-MAYL" /ɛˈmeɪl/)
   - Simple: A hard, shiny coating melted onto metal, glass, or pottery.

## Origin

**Meanings 1–4** — The noun began in the 1970s as a shortened "electronic mail." The verb was made from the noun, following "mail" in its sense "to send through the mail."
**Meaning 5** — Borrowed from Middle French "email," from Old French "esmal" ("enamel"), from Medieval Latin "smaltum" ("enamel"), and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)meld- ("to melt; to soften"). It is a doublet of "smalt," "smalto," and "schmaltz."

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/email (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).