Definition of e-mail

E-mail (said also electronic mail or e-mail, that form of the term English electronic mail) is a service that allows you to exchange messages using the electronic communication systems. The concept is mainly used to describe the system providing this service through Internet with the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) Protocol, but it can also refer to other similar systems using many technologies. E-mail messages can send not only text but also any kind of digital document (images, videos, audio, etc.). The operation of the e-mail resembles that of postal mail. Both allow to send and receive messages which arrive at their destination due to the existence of one address. Similarly, the e-mail has its own mailboxes (the courier): these are the servers that temporarily store messages until the recipient shall revise them.
It is the American Ray Tomlinson who incorporated the arrobase (@) to email addresses, with the aim of separating the identifier and the server where the mail domain is hosted. The explanation is quite simple: @, in English, at which means expressed "on/home. For example: henry@serveur.com said henry at serveur.com (i.e., henry on/in serveur.com).
E-mail service is available in two forms: one that is known as the web mail or webmail where messages are sent and received using a web page specially designed for this purpose; and service through an e-mail client which is a software to manage incoming messages (received) and writing of others.