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Dead Letters

Defined in 4 dictionaries — Cyclopedic (1922), Bouvier (1914), Black's (1910), Black's (1891)

The Cyclopedic Law Dictionary

Walter A. Shumaker and George Foster Longsdorf; ed. James C. Cahill · 1922

Letters transmitted through the mails according to direction, and remaining for a specified time uncalled for by the persons addressed, are called "dead letters."

Bouvier's Law Dictionary and Concise Encyclopedia

John Bouvier; revised by Francis Rawle · 1914

Letters transmitted through the mails according to direction, and remaining for a specified time uncalled for by the persons addressed, are called dead letters.

Black's Law Dictionary

Henry Campbell Black, M.A. · 1910

Letters which the postal department has not been able to deliver to the persons for whom they were intended. They are sent to the "dead-letter office," where they are opened, and returned to the writer if his address can be ascertained.

A Dictionary of Law

Henry Campbell Black · 1891

Letters which the postal department has not been able to deliver to the persons for whom they were intended. They are sent to the “dead-letter office,” where they are opened, and returned to the writer if his address can be ascertained.