mailcatcher

[meyl-kach-er]

noun Railroads.

a device on a mail car that, while the train is moving, picks up mailbags suspended beside the track.

Origin of mailcatcher

An Americanism dating back to 1870–75; mail¹ + catcher

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018