email or emails

Is email (e-mail) singular or plural? Do you write or say "email" or "emails"?

In short, emails or e-mails is fine. So, why is this a question for English students and native English speakers alike?

Let's take a look at the history of term.

Starting in 1985, America Online (AOL) offered online email services to Commodore computer users. Originally, the term was "electronic mail message." Since then, the term "email" has evolved rather quickly compared to other words in the English language, which is a common phenomenon for many computer or information technology (IT) terms.

Here is a simple list that shows the transformation of today's topic:

• electronic mail message(s)
• electronic mail (message/messages)
• E-mail message(s)
• E-mail (message/messages)
  
• e-mail(message/messages)
• email message(s)
• emails (e-mails)

Regarding standard mail or "snail mail" that is delivered to your address by the post office, we do not say "I received three mails today," nor do we say "I received three mail today." Rather, we say "letters," "bills," or "pieces of mail."

References and further reading:

• The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition (Hardcover)
• Computer Desktop Encyclopedia (Paperback)
• The Chicago Manual of Style (Hardcover)

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