third-class mail
- noun
- /θɜrd klæs meɪl/
- Archaic
:
correo de tercera clase
- After sending the invitations by third-class mail, they waited patiently for responses.
Examples
-
The largest compartment (60 percent of the space) is devoted to mixed paper, including newsprint, corrugated, third-class mail, kraft, and magazines.
Academic text (1996) -
Many companies use third-class mail to send newsletters and promotional materials at lower rates.
-
It often takes longer for third-class mail to reach its destination compared to first-class mail.
Synonyms
Mail sent at a lower price, usually for advertising flyers
Surface Forms
Morphology
third-class + mail
The phrase is compositionally built from 'third-class' (a rank/quality) and 'mail' (post), so a B1 learner who knows the constituents would likely infer it refers to a lower-priority or cheaper category of mail. However, the precise administrative meaning — a specific postal class for printed matter eligible for reduced rates — is technical and not fully predictable from the words alone, so the transparency is partial.
Etymology
Third-class mail comes from the way the post office used to sort items into classes. Things put in the third-class group were cheaper and slower to send and were often printed items, so the name now means 'printed matter' sent at a lower cost and with slower delivery.
