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mile

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Distance In Miles
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mile

  [mahyl]
Use mile in a Sentence
–noun
1. Also called statute mile. a unit of distance on land in English-speaking countries equal to 5280 feet, or 1760 yards (1.609 kilometers).
2. nautical mile.
3. international nautical mile.
4. any of various other units of distance or length at different periods and in different countries. Compare Roman mile.
5. a notable distance or margin: missed the target by a mile. Abbreviation: mi, mi.
Origin:
bef. 1000; ME; OE mīl < L mīlia (passuum) a thousand (paces)
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Distance In Miles
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mile   (mīl)   
n.  

  1. Abbr. mi. or mi A unit of length equal to 5,280 feet or 1,760 yards (1,609 meters), used in the United States and other English-speaking countries. Also called land mile, statute mile. See Table at measurement.

  2. A nautical mile.

  3. An air mile.

  4. Sports A race that is one mile long.

  5. A relatively great distance: had to walk for miles in the airport.


[Middle English, from Old English mīl, from Latin mīlia (passuum), a thousand (double paces), a Roman mile, pl. of mīlle, thousand; see gheslo- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

mile 
O.E. mil, from W.Gmc. *milja, from L. mila "thousands," pl. of mille "a thousand" (neuter plural was mistaken in Gmc. as fem. sing.). Ancient Roman mile was 1,000 double paces (one step with each foot), for about 4,860 feet, but there were many local variants and a modern statute mile is about 400 feet longer. In Germany, Holland, and Scandinavia in the Middle Ages, the L. word was applied arbitrarily to the ancient Gmc. rasta, a measure of from 3.25 to 6 English miles. Mile-a-minute (adj.) is attested from 1957; milestone is from 1746.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Science Dictionary
mile   (mīl)  Pronunciation Key 

  1. A unit of length in the US Customary System, equal to 5,280 feet or 1,760 yards (about 1.61 kilometers). Also called statute mile.

  2. See nautical mile. See Table at measurement.


The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Bible Dictionary

Mile

(from Lat. mille, "a thousand;" Matt. 5:41), a Roman measure of 1,000 paces of 5 feet each. Thus the Roman mile has 1618 yards, being 142 yards shorter than the English mile.

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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Idioms & Phrases

mile

In addition to the idioms beginning with mile, also see miss by a mile; miss is as good as a mile; stick out (like a mile).

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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