The Collaborative International Dictionary
Mile \Mile\ (m[imac]l), n. [AS. m[=i]l, 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.
Note: 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 mile 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.