> "What's thoroughly silly is that the word "mail" is a Modern
> French derivative of an Old High German word. It's actually
> the English who should be giving it the biff if anyone's going
> to be precious"
>
> Hum... Jinx, the french word "mail" has nothing to do with
> correspondence or mail, it refers to a mall, an avenue. It is
> commonly used for naming shopping center. ex. Mail
> Champlain which is a large shopping center located in
> Brossard, Quebec :)
>
> Gaston

OK, I'll accept that. The French are rejecting the Anglicised
word as used by English speakers

"mail - noun, from Old French "male", 'bag', Modern French
"malle", trunk, bag', from Old High German "malha", 'wallet',
a bag for carrying letters &c by post

And just to add yet another dimension and an inconsistency or
two - "mail", as it applied to letters and parcels, until recently was
an Americanism, the British more likely to use "post" in conversation,
even though the institution that delivers the post in the UK is, and
has been for some time, the "Royal Mail". But in America it's the
"Postal Service" ;-)

Etymology is a fascinating subject but far too big and unending
for the Piclist

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