Mile (?), n. [AS. mīl, fr.
L. millia, milia; pl. of mille a thousand, i.
e., milia passuum a thousand paces. Cf. Mill the tenth
of a cent, Million.] A certain measure of distance, being
equivalent in England and the United States to 320 poles or rods, or
5,280 feet.
☞ The distance called a mile varies greatly in
different countries. Its length in yards is, in Norway, 12,182; in
Brunswick, 11,816; in Sweden, 11,660; in Hungary, 9,139; in
Switzerland, 8,548; in Austria, 8,297; in Prussia, 8,238; in Poland,
8,100; in Italy, 2,025; in England and the United States, 1,760; in
Spain, 1,552; in the Netherlands, 1,094.
Geographical, or Nautical
mile, one sixtieth of a degree of a great circle of the
earth, or 6080.27 feet. -- Mile run. Same
as Train mile. See under Train. -- Roman
mile, a thousand paces, equal to 1,614 yards English
measure. -- Statute mile, a mile
conforming to statute, that is, in England and the United States, a
mile of 5,280 feet, as distinguished from any other mile.