Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1700-1800
Language: French
Origin: enveloppe, from Old French envoloper; ENVELOP

envelope

 noun
     
envelope
Related topics: Mail
en‧ve‧lope S3 [countable]
1TCM a thin paper cover in which you put and send a letter:
envelopes and stamps
She tore open the envelope and frantically read the letter.
He got a job stuffing envelopes (=filling them with letters) at the campaign headquarters.
 ➔ sae, SASE
2 a layer of something that surrounds something else
envelope of
an envelope of gases around the planet
3

push the envelope

American English to try to go beyond the normal limits of something:
a musician who pushes the envelope of improvisation
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.
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