A compound of mail + drop
Proto-Germanic *malhō ‘leather bag’
Frankish *malhu ‘bag’
Old French male ‘bag, wallet’
Anglo-Norman male
Middle English male ‘bag’
English mail
Proto-Germanic *drupô ‘drop’
Proto-West Germanic *dropō ‘drop’
Old English dropa ‘a drop’
Middle English droppe ‘small quantity of liquid’
English drop
Today it means
noun A place where postal mail is received and then forwarded to another address, used for anonymity or as a fixed address for somebody who is travelling.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / maildrop
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