"snail mail" meaning in English

See snail mail in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

Audio: en-au-snail mail.ogg
Etymology: A retronym emphasizing postal mail's slowness compared to email. Head templates: {{en-noun|-}} snail mail (uncountable)
  1. (retronym) Mail (physical material) sent in the post, especially as compared with email. Tags: retronym, uncountable Categories (topical): Post
    Sense id: en-snail_mail-en-noun-en:physical_material_conveyed_by_the_postal_service Disambiguation of Post: 76 24 Categories (other): English retronyms, English entries with incorrect language header, English entries with language name categories using raw markup, English entries with topic categories using raw markup, English rhyming compounds, English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys, Terms with Catalan translations, Terms with Danish translations, Terms with Dutch translations, Terms with Estonian translations, Terms with Finnish translations, Terms with French translations, Terms with Galician translations, Terms with German translations, Terms with Icelandic translations, Terms with Italian translations, Terms with Mandarin translations, Terms with Norwegian Bokmål translations, Terms with Norwegian Nynorsk translations, Terms with Portuguese translations, Terms with Russian translations, Terms with Spanish translations, Terms with Swedish translations, Terms with Telugu translations Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 81 19 Disambiguation of English entries with language name categories using raw markup: 82 18 Disambiguation of English entries with topic categories using raw markup: 82 18 Disambiguation of English rhyming compounds: 71 29 Disambiguation of English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys: 82 18 Disambiguation of Terms with Catalan translations: 78 22 Disambiguation of Terms with Danish translations: 87 13 Disambiguation of Terms with Dutch translations: 79 21 Disambiguation of Terms with Estonian translations: 78 22 Disambiguation of Terms with Finnish translations: 78 22 Disambiguation of Terms with French translations: 80 20 Disambiguation of Terms with Galician translations: 78 22 Disambiguation of Terms with German translations: 80 20 Disambiguation of Terms with Icelandic translations: 78 22 Disambiguation of Terms with Italian translations: 81 19 Disambiguation of Terms with Mandarin translations: 78 22 Disambiguation of Terms with Norwegian Bokmål translations: 77 23 Disambiguation of Terms with Norwegian Nynorsk translations: 90 10 Disambiguation of Terms with Portuguese translations: 78 22 Disambiguation of Terms with Russian translations: 81 19 Disambiguation of Terms with Spanish translations: 86 14 Disambiguation of Terms with Swedish translations: 79 21 Disambiguation of Terms with Telugu translations: 77 23
  2. (retronym) Mail (postal service), especially as compared with email. Tags: retronym, uncountable Translations (postal mail): correu ordinari [masculine] (Catalan), 郵局遞送的郵件 (Chinese Mandarin), 邮局递送的邮件 (yóujú dìsòng de yóujiàn) (Chinese Mandarin), sneglepost [common-gender] (Danish), slakkenpost (Dutch), snailmail (Dutch), tigupost (Estonian), etanaposti (Finnish), courrier papier [masculine] (French), courrier traditionnel [masculine] (French), correo postal [masculine] (Galician), Schneckenpost [feminine] (German), Snailmail f Snail-Mail [feminine] (German), sniglapóstur [masculine] (Icelandic), posta cartacea [feminine] (Italian), sneglepost [masculine] (Norwegian Bokmål), sniglepost [masculine] (Norwegian Nynorsk), correio lesma [masculine] (Portuguese), по́чта (póčta) (alt: обычная (obyčnaja)) [feminine] (Russian), correo postal [masculine] (Spanish), correo ordinario [masculine] (Spanish), snigelpost [common-gender] (Swedish), తంతి తపాలా (tanti tapālā) (Telugu)
    Sense id: en-snail_mail-en-noun-en:postal_service_or_system Categories (other): English retronyms Disambiguation of 'postal mail': 42 58
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Synonyms: smail

Alternative forms

Download JSON data for snail mail meaning in English (8.2kB)

{
  "etymology_text": "A retronym emphasizing postal mail's slowness compared to email.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "snail mail (uncountable)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English retronyms",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "81 19",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "82 18",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with language name categories using raw markup",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with language name categories using raw markup",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "82 18",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with topic categories using raw markup",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with topic categories using raw markup",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "71 29",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English rhyming compounds",
          "parents": [
            "Rhyming compounds",
            "Compound terms",
            "Rhyming phrases",
            "Terms by etymology",
            "Phrases",
            "Lemmas",
            "Multiword terms"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "82 18",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys",
          "parents": [
            "Terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "78 22",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Catalan translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "87 13",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Danish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "79 21",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Dutch translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "78 22",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Estonian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "78 22",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Finnish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "80 20",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with French translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "78 22",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Galician translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "80 20",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with German translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "78 22",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Icelandic translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "81 19",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Italian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "78 22",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Mandarin translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "77 23",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Norwegian Bokmål translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "90 10",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Norwegian Nynorsk translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "78 22",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Portuguese translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "81 19",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Russian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "86 14",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Spanish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "79 21",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Swedish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "77 23",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Telugu translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "76 24",
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Post",
          "orig": "en:Post",
          "parents": [
            "Communication",
            "All topics",
            "Fundamental"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "I came home to a mailbox stuffed with snail mail.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1993 November 9, L. R. Shannon, “Peripherals: MCI Mail Changes The Nature Of Letters”, in New York Times, retrieved 2014-04-03",
          "text": "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.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Mail (physical material) sent in the post, especially as compared with email."
      ],
      "id": "en-snail_mail-en-noun-en:physical_material_conveyed_by_the_postal_service",
      "links": [
        [
          "post",
          "post#Noun"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(retronym) Mail (physical material) sent in the post, especially as compared with email."
      ],
      "senseid": [
        "en:physical material conveyed by the postal service"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "retronym",
        "uncountable"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English retronyms",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "The official notice will be sent via both email and snail mail owing to legal requirements.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Mail (postal service), especially as compared with email."
      ],
      "id": "en-snail_mail-en-noun-en:postal_service_or_system",
      "links": [
        [
          "post",
          "post#Noun"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(retronym) Mail (postal service), especially as compared with email."
      ],
      "senseid": [
        "en:postal service or system"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "retronym",
        "uncountable"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "42 58",
          "code": "ca",
          "lang": "Catalan",
          "sense": "postal mail",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "correu ordinari"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "42 58",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "sense": "postal mail",
          "word": "郵局遞送的郵件"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "42 58",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "yóujú dìsòng de yóujiàn",
          "sense": "postal mail",
          "word": "邮局递送的邮件"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "42 58",
          "code": "da",
          "lang": "Danish",
          "sense": "postal mail",
          "tags": [
            "common-gender"
          ],
          "word": "sneglepost"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "42 58",
          "code": "nl",
          "lang": "Dutch",
          "sense": "postal mail",
          "word": "slakkenpost"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "42 58",
          "code": "nl",
          "lang": "Dutch",
          "sense": "postal mail",
          "word": "snailmail"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "42 58",
          "code": "et",
          "lang": "Estonian",
          "sense": "postal mail",
          "word": "tigupost"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "42 58",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "postal mail",
          "word": "etanaposti"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "42 58",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "postal mail",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "courrier papier"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "42 58",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "postal mail",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "courrier traditionnel"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "42 58",
          "code": "gl",
          "lang": "Galician",
          "sense": "postal mail",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "correo postal"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "42 58",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "postal mail",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "Schneckenpost"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "42 58",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "postal mail",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "Snailmail f Snail-Mail"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "42 58",
          "code": "is",
          "lang": "Icelandic",
          "sense": "postal mail",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "sniglapóstur"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "42 58",
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "postal mail",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "posta cartacea"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "42 58",
          "code": "nb",
          "lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
          "sense": "postal mail",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "sneglepost"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "42 58",
          "code": "nn",
          "lang": "Norwegian Nynorsk",
          "sense": "postal mail",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "sniglepost"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "42 58",
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "postal mail",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "correio lesma"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "42 58",
          "alt": "обычная (obyčnaja)",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "póčta",
          "sense": "postal mail",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "по́чта"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "42 58",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "postal mail",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "correo postal"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "42 58",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "postal mail",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "correo ordinario"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "42 58",
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "postal mail",
          "tags": [
            "common-gender"
          ],
          "word": "snigelpost"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "42 58",
          "code": "te",
          "lang": "Telugu",
          "roman": "tanti tapālā",
          "sense": "postal mail",
          "word": "తంతి తపాలా"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "en-au-snail mail.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/c/c5/En-au-snail_mail.ogg/En-au-snail_mail.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c5/En-au-snail_mail.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "_dis1": "52 48",
      "word": "smail"
    }
  ],
  "word": "snail mail"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English entries with language name categories using raw markup",
    "English entries with topic categories using raw markup",
    "English lemmas",
    "English multiword terms",
    "English nouns",
    "English rhyming compounds",
    "English terms with audio links",
    "English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys",
    "English uncountable nouns",
    "Terms with Catalan translations",
    "Terms with Danish translations",
    "Terms with Dutch translations",
    "Terms with Estonian translations",
    "Terms with Finnish translations",
    "Terms with French translations",
    "Terms with Galician translations",
    "Terms with German translations",
    "Terms with Icelandic translations",
    "Terms with Italian translations",
    "Terms with Mandarin translations",
    "Terms with Norwegian Bokmål translations",
    "Terms with Norwegian Nynorsk translations",
    "Terms with Portuguese translations",
    "Terms with Russian translations",
    "Terms with Spanish translations",
    "Terms with Swedish translations",
    "Terms with Telugu translations",
    "en:Post"
  ],
  "etymology_text": "A retronym emphasizing postal mail's slowness compared to email.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "snail mail (uncountable)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English retronyms",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English terms with usage examples"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "I came home to a mailbox stuffed with snail mail.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1993 November 9, L. R. Shannon, “Peripherals: MCI Mail Changes The Nature Of Letters”, in New York Times, retrieved 2014-04-03",
          "text": "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.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Mail (physical material) sent in the post, especially as compared with email."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "post",
          "post#Noun"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(retronym) Mail (physical material) sent in the post, especially as compared with email."
      ],
      "senseid": [
        "en:physical material conveyed by the postal service"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "retronym",
        "uncountable"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English retronyms",
        "English terms with usage examples"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "The official notice will be sent via both email and snail mail owing to legal requirements.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Mail (postal service), especially as compared with email."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "post",
          "post#Noun"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(retronym) Mail (postal service), especially as compared with email."
      ],
      "senseid": [
        "en:postal service or system"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "retronym",
        "uncountable"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "en-au-snail mail.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/c/c5/En-au-snail_mail.ogg/En-au-snail_mail.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c5/En-au-snail_mail.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "smail"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "ca",
      "lang": "Catalan",
      "sense": "postal mail",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "correu ordinari"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "sense": "postal mail",
      "word": "郵局遞送的郵件"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "yóujú dìsòng de yóujiàn",
      "sense": "postal mail",
      "word": "邮局递送的邮件"
    },
    {
      "code": "da",
      "lang": "Danish",
      "sense": "postal mail",
      "tags": [
        "common-gender"
      ],
      "word": "sneglepost"
    },
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "sense": "postal mail",
      "word": "slakkenpost"
    },
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "sense": "postal mail",
      "word": "snailmail"
    },
    {
      "code": "et",
      "lang": "Estonian",
      "sense": "postal mail",
      "word": "tigupost"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "postal mail",
      "word": "etanaposti"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "postal mail",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "courrier papier"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "postal mail",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "courrier traditionnel"
    },
    {
      "code": "gl",
      "lang": "Galician",
      "sense": "postal mail",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "correo postal"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "postal mail",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "Schneckenpost"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "postal mail",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "Snailmail f Snail-Mail"
    },
    {
      "code": "is",
      "lang": "Icelandic",
      "sense": "postal mail",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "sniglapóstur"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "postal mail",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "posta cartacea"
    },
    {
      "code": "nb",
      "lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
      "sense": "postal mail",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "sneglepost"
    },
    {
      "code": "nn",
      "lang": "Norwegian Nynorsk",
      "sense": "postal mail",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "sniglepost"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "postal mail",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "correio lesma"
    },
    {
      "alt": "обычная (obyčnaja)",
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "póčta",
      "sense": "postal mail",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "по́чта"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "postal mail",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "correo postal"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "postal mail",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "correo ordinario"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "postal mail",
      "tags": [
        "common-gender"
      ],
      "word": "snigelpost"
    },
    {
      "code": "te",
      "lang": "Telugu",
      "roman": "tanti tapālā",
      "sense": "postal mail",
      "word": "తంతి తపాలా"
    }
  ],
  "word": "snail mail"
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-06-23 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-06-20 using wiktextract (1b9bfc5 and 0136956). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.