mailwoman

1 2.0

A woman who delivers letters and packages to homes and businesses

noun
/ˈmeɪlˌwʊmən/

: cartera

Since our mailwoman was wearing an Obama t-shirt, I would be afraid of what would happen to my mail if I had a Romney sign.

Examples

It's the mailwoman today.

Unthinkable (2010)
Every day, the mailwoman delivers packages and letters to homes in the neighborhood.
The friendly mailwoman always waves to the children as she walks down the street.
When the mailwoman knocked on the door, I quickly went to answer it.

Synonyms

mailman

vsmailwoman

96 1.0

A person who delivers letters and packages to people's homes and businesses

refers to a woman rather than a man in the same job

courier

vsmailwoman

94 3.8

A person who carries and delivers messages or packages

is chiefly about routine local delivery of letters and parcels

postman

vsmailwoman

38 1.0

A person who delivers letters and parcels to homes and businesses

denotes the same delivery role but for a woman

mail carrier

vsmailwoman

7 2.0

A person who delivers letters and packages to homes and businesses

refers specifically to a woman rather than a neutral job title

deliveryman

vsmailwoman

5 1.4

A person who brings packages or food to people's homes

limits the work to postal deliveries by a woman rather than general goods

letter carrier

vsmailwoman

4 2.3

A person who delivers mail and packages to homes and shops

highlights the woman performing that same formal delivery role

deliverer

vsmailwoman

1 2.7

A person who brings packages to homes or businesses

is specific to routine delivery of letters and parcels by a woman

postie

vsmailwoman

Australian

1 8.4

A person who delivers letters and parcels to homes and shops

is the same job but described more formally as a woman

postwoman

vsmailwoman

2.1

A woman who delivers letters and packages to homes and shops

is the same role but stated in a more general way

deliverywoman

vsmailwoman

3.5

A woman who brings packages to people's homes or shops

focuses on delivering letters and parcels rather than general goods

postboy

vsmailwoman

Archaic

9.3

A boy who rode a horse to deliver mail in the past

is the adult female version of that delivery job today

roundswoman

vsmailwoman

9.6

A woman who makes regular visits to deliver things or check places

is narrower, focusing on delivering letters and parcels on a route

Surface Forms

mailwoman singular

mailwomen plural

Morphology

mailwoman = mail + woman (transparent) = mail + woman

The meaning follows directly from the clear combination of 'mail' + 'woman' (a woman who delivers mail).

Etymology

Mailwoman is simply mail + woman, where mail used to mean a 'bag' of letters or packages and shows up in words like mailbox, and woman means an adult female. So a mailwoman is a woman whose job is to bring letters and parcels to people's homes.