English
mailed
Mailed comes from Old French maille ‘chainmail’, from Latin macula ‘a spot, speck, small mark or stain’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *smeH- ‘to wipe’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*smeH-‘to wipe’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*sm̥Htlómreconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*smaklomreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmacula‘a spot, speck, small mark or stain’
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*maclareconstructed
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400maille‘chainmail’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500mayle‘a ring or plate that forms mail’
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500mayled‘made out of mail or resembling something made in that way’
- Englishearliest quotation 1843mailed
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*smeH-‘to wipe’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*sm̥Htlómreconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*smaklomreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmacula‘a spot, speck, small mark or stain’
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*maclareconstructed
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400maille‘chainmail’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500mayle‘a ring or plate that forms mail’
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500mayled‘made out of mail or resembling something made in that way’
- Englishearliest quotation 1843mailed
Earliest quotation: 1843, Charles Knight, London: “[I]n the niches, instead of the effigies of mailed…”
Formed from mail ‘chainmail’ + -ed
Proto-Germanic *malhō ‘leather bag’
Frankish *malhu ‘bag’
Old French male ‘bag, wallet’
Anglo-Norman male
Middle English male ‘bag’
English mail
Linked words
through Latin macula ‘a spot, speck, small mark or stain’
mackerel, macchiato, mancha, macula, 9 more
through Old French maille ‘chainmail’
Today it means
adj Armoured in, protected by, or made of mail.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *smeH- / mailed