airmail letter
- noun
- /ˈɛrˌmeɪl ˈlɛtər/
:
carta por correo aéreo
- On September 17th, 1955, Dr Luther received a special-delivery airmail letter from Richmond, Virginia.
Examples
-
It was that same pale blue as the airmail letter he'd found and given to her last night.
Fiction book (1998) -
He sent her an airmail letter.
Fiction book (1993) -
Rupert Giles, a folded airmail letter still clutched in one hand, stopped short in the doorway of his sanctuary -- Sunnydale High School's library -- so suddenly that Buffy nearly crashed into him.
Fiction book (1999) -
She received an airmail letter yesterday, which contained exciting news about her friend's travels.
-
To ensure it arrived quickly, I sent the important document as an airmail letter.
-
The airmail letter arrived in just three days, much faster than traditional mail services.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
A written message sent to a person or organization, often by mail
14
8.1
A formal letter that gives important information
1
2.8
Letters and packages sent by plane to other countries
1
9.1
A thin letter that folds into its own envelope for sending by air
A lightweight sheet that folds into its own envelope to send by air mail
How Fast
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase 'airmail letter' is a straightforward composition of 'airmail' (items sent by plane) + 'letter' (a posted message), so its meaning 'a letter sent by airmail' is directly inferable from the parts. This is a literal, cross-linguistically common noun–noun compounding pattern and would be clear to a B1 learner who knows both constituents.
Etymology
Airmail letter comes from the early days when people put a letter on an airmail plane instead of sending it by ship or train, so you can picture an envelope riding in a plane. That's why Airmail letter means a letter sent 'by airplane' to arrive 'faster'.