English

mailboat

From mail + boat.

A compound of mail + boat

Proto-Germanic *malhō ‘leather bag’

Frankish *malhu ‘bag’

Old French male ‘bag, wallet’

Anglo-Norman male

Middle English male ‘bag’

English mail

Proto-Indo-European *bʰeyd- ‘to break’

…

Proto-Germanic *baitaz ‘boat’

Proto-West Germanic *bait ‘boat’

Old English bāt

Middle English bot

English boat

Today it means

noun A boat used to transport mail.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / mailboat