Which spelling is correct? email or e-mail

email, otherwise the fairer sex would be fe-males.

I wrote to someone at Dictionary.com a while ago with the same question. It took a while to get a reply, but they
said it should be e-mail since it means electronic-mail and is shortened to e-mail. I’m not saying you are wrong at all, but
I’m still curious about it. If it is email wouldn’t that be spelled electronicmail, all one word, no hyphen? That makes less
sense to me. Isn’t e-mail/email just an acronym for electronic mail? You should be able to replace them with each other,
shouldn’t you?

Also what about these examples:

“I’m going to send you an e-mail/email” — “I’m going to send you an mail” (as in snail mail)

“I’m going to send you e-mail/email” — “I’m going to send you mail”

“I’m going to send you a letter” — “I’m going to send you letter”

Obviously you can’t just replace these all with “electronic mail”, but why not? Aren’t they all forms of mail, electronic or not?

Electronic mail is used far more often now than postal mail. I guess it just proves that our language is changing all the time.

Any input will be welcome.

p.s.

If I send e-mail/email to someone of the fairer sex, would I be sending her fe-mail or femail?

Both e-mail and email are in common use, and are interchangeable for all practical purposes.

Perhaps it should have a hyphen, as emissive means something altogether different from e-missive, and we have taken a solemn pledge to stop playing around with that word.

It’s nice to see that you are keeping the pledge, douglang, even when posting on a different thread. Honorable man, your are.

I vote for e-mail, although I agree that both e-mail and email used. I haven’t see EM and TM for “e-mail” and “text message,” but I’m sure they’re just around the bend, if not here already.

AM, BM, FM, GM, PM, and SM already have other meanings. The rest is up for grabs.

Trying an intelligent question for a change, because I really don’t know (Spicus has me discombobulated). But what does the “e’ in email stand for??

Electronic, I believe. Or maybe “ethereal.”

Or enane? or is that inane? Still discombobulated.

eh?-mail for the hard of hearing

Actually, it’s ee-mail, a clipped form of whoopee-mail.

well, blaxparx gave a good explanation above.
(whopee mail aside)
But, as a relative newbie to all this techno-ese in the communications fields, I am still confused.  I think a new word could be coined here: “I am still spicused”.
What does the ‘i’ in ipod stand for????

The IPod followed the IMac and the IBook and was then followed by the IPhone.

Many believe that the “I” is for Internet because of the ease of connecting to the internet via these devices. However, I don’t know that Apple has ever given us a definite IMeaning of any of its “I’s.”

Apple is far more elusive that the creators of McNuggets, McChickens, and McRibs.

Hmm.  Guess that all makes sense. I for Internet. E for electronic.
Now you made me hungry: and I have never in my life been to a Micky D’s. Can you believe it??

I don’t know that you’ve missed much. I would recommend the coffee, especially if you quality for the senor discount.

Senor Discount? I qualify for all things senor. Wish they could email me coffee, could use a cup: too lazy to make any more today.

Joe Dimaggio is crying.