Word Confusion: Mail versus Male

Posted July 24, 2014 by Kathy Davie in Author Resources, Self-Editing, Word Confusions, Writing

Revised as of
17 Jan 2023

Chain male. Really? Sounds like a Neanderthal speaking: “Chain male, chain male up with leash and collar.”

From all the errors I ran across in this author’s book, I suspect she saved money and used software to proofread her manuscript. Oops.

Please, please don’t give me an excuse to make fun of your book!?! I really don’t want to. I want to read the story, to fall into it. I don’t want to be giggling my way through it imagining some caveman grunting his way through it or finding the mail in bed with some woman . . . I’d probably be thinking it was a great catalog that was getting her all excited. Not the impression you want me having, I’m sure.

Don’t rely only upon spellcheck. Yes, it’s good to catch a lot of misspelled words, but it will never check the context. Go through your manuscript, your draft, your potential post. Become aware of the words you tend to mix up and make a list.

Word Confusions . . .

. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.

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Mail Male

Sudanese Chain Mail Coat is Gaius Cornelius’ own work under CC-BY-SA-3.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons.


A Defense.gov News Photo courtesy of Petty Officer 2nd Class Richard Rosser, U.S. Navy is in the public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

A son rushing to greet his father — two males — on his return from a six-month deployment.

Part of Grammar:
Noun 1, 2, 3;
Verb, transitive 1, 2

Plural for the noun: mails (the system of mails operated or supervised by the national government, for sending or delivering letters, packages, etc.)
Gerund: mailing

Third person present verb: mails
Past tense or past participle: mailed
Present participle: mailing

Adjective; Noun

Plural: males

Noun:
Letters and packages conveyed by the postal system 1

  • The postal system
  • [As modifier] A mail truck
  • [In singular noun] A single delivery or collection of mail

[Computing] E-mail

[Dated] A vehicle, such as a train, carrying mail

[Archaic] A bag of letters to be conveyed by the postal system

[Historical] Armor made of metal rings or plates, joined together flexibly 2

  • The protective shell or scales of certain animals
  • [Textiles] An oval piece of metal pierced with a hole through which the warp ends are threaded, serving as an eyelet on a heddle or especially on the harness cords of a Jacquard loom

[Scottish] Payment, rent, tribute 3

Verb, transitive:
Send a letter or package using the postal system 1

  • [Computing] Send (someone) e-mail

Clothe or cover with mail 2

Adjective:
Of or denoting the sex that produces small, typically motile gametes, especially spermatozoa, with which a female may be fertilized or inseminated to produce offspring

  • Relating to or characteristic of men or male animals
    • Masculine
  • [Of a plant or flower] Bearing stamens but lacking functional pistils
  • [Of parts of machinery, fittings, etc.] Designed to enter, fill, or fit inside a corresponding female part

Noun:
A male person, plant, or animal

Examples:
Noun:
You can order by mail.

The check is in the mail

Did the mail truck come yet?

Did you see that new magazine that came in the mail today?

Chain mail has been around since at least the fourth century BC and continues to be used today.

Chain mail was eventually supplanted by plate armor.

“We ordain and appoint our present Town-thesaurer, and his successors in office, to pay the house-rent and mails of his Lordship and succeeding Presidents of the Session” (Act).

“The arrears of rent, or, in our law-style, of mails and duties, prescribe, if they be not pursued for within five years after the tenant’s removing from the lands out of which the arrears are due” (Jamieson).

Verb, transitive:
If you will mail the coupon, we’ll send you a free trial package.

Hank, e-mail those attachments now.

Mail up!

Adjective:
There are seven male children in this household.

Male unemployment is at an all-time high.

He had a deep male voice that made me shiver.

They protect their territory from other males.

The police are looking for a tall white male in his mid-twenties.

“If a flower is having only stamens as sex organs and not the carpel, such flowers are called staminate flowers and are falsely referred to as male” (Unisexual).

You’re supposed to insert the male hose end into the female hose end to make the connection.

Noun:
The audience consisted of adult males.

The male of the species has two brains.

A male nurse came to take my temperature.

Male dogs tend to be more aggressive.

Derivatives:
Adjective: mailable, mailed, mailless Adjective: antimale, intermale
Noun: antimale, maleness, supermale
History of the Word:
  1. Its first known use was in the 13th century.
    Middle English male, from the Anglo-French, of Germanic origin and akin to the Old High German malaha meaning bag.

    The notion by post dates from the mid-17th century.

  2. Its first known use was in the 14th century.
    Middle English (also denoting the individual metal elements composing mail armor) and from the Old French maille, from the Latin macula meaning spot or mesh.
  3. Its first known use was in before 1150.
    Middle English male, maille, from the Old English māl meaning agreement, pay, from the Old Norse māl meaning speech, agreement and akin to the Old English mǣl speech.
Late Middle English from the Old French masle, which is from the Latin masculus, which is from mas meaning a male.

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C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!

Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.

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Resources for Mail versus Male

Act Sederunt, 12. Jan 1677. Web. n.d.

Apple Dictionary.com

Dictionary.com: mail

The Free Dictionary: male

Jamieson, John. An Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Language: Illustrating the Words in Their Different Significations by Examples from Ancient and Modern Writers, Volume 2. University Press for W. Creech, 1808. <https://bit.ly/3dqkf9T>.

“A Unisexual Flower That Has Only Stamen.” Byju’s. n.d. Web. 8 Dec 2022. <https://byjus.com/question-answer/a-unisexual-flower-that-has-only-stamen-is-called/>.

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Pinterest Photo Credits:

Man in Toecuffs by rubber soles Gummifüße from Frankfurt, Deutschland, under the CC BY-SA 2.0 license and Pile of Junk Mail is Dvortygirl’s own work under CC BY-SA 3.0 license, both via Wikimedia Commons.

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