postal

Forms

postal (feminine postale, masculine plural postaux, feminine plural postales)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from French poste¹ (“mail, post office”) + -al.^{[2][3][4][5][1]} The TLFi and the Petit Robert date it to 1832, the Grand Robert and the GLLF to 1835 (Raymond), Bloch and Wartburg to 1836.^{[2][4][3][6][7]} The base noun, first “relay of post horses” (1480), is from Italian posta, from porre (“to put”).^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Raymond's dictionary records it in 1832, in the sense “concerning the post”.^[2][8]

Semantic evolution

It entered a number of set phrases: carte postale (1872), colis postal and code postal (1972).^[8][6] Littré gives route postale and convention postale, an agreement with a foreign power on carrying letters between the two countries.^[5] None of its derivatives, postalement (1868) and postaliser (1923), took hold, except the compound aéropostal (1927).^[8]

Timeline

• 1832 – First record, in Raymond's dictionary.^[2]
• 1868 – The adverb postalement is recorded.^[8]
• 1872 – Carte postale “postcard” appears.^[8]
• 1927 – The compound aéropostal appears.^[8]
• 1972 – Code postal appears.^[8][6]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Postal, relating to the post and the postal administration: service postal, convention postale.^[4][2][1]
2. Relating to the handling of mail: colis postal, carte postale, code postal.^[4][6][8]
3. Relating to a service provided by the Post Office: boîte postale, compte chèque postal.^[4]

Word family

• aéropostal

Related words

• poste¹
• postier
• poster

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
3. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
6. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
7. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
8. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert