mile English · revision 4299

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=a. 800|origins=la mille}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /maɪl/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|mile]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) [[inh|ang|mīl]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from [[gmw-pro|*mīlijā|alt=*milja]],^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) also the source of Middle Dutch mīle, Dutch mijl, Old High German mīla and German Meile,^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) borrowed from [[la|mīlia|t=thousands]], the plural of mīlle “a thousand”, as in mīlia passuum “thousands of paces”;^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) the Germanic peoples took the neuter plural for a feminine singular.^(Etymonline) Latin mille is of unknown origin.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) The Latin word also gave French mille, Italian miglio and Spanish milla, while the Scandinavian words are from English.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Old English mīl is from before 800 in Barnhart,^(Barnhart 1988) and the OED's first quotation, for the Roman measure of a thousand paces, from 971.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The Roman mile was 1,000 double paces, about 4,860 feet, but local variants grew up across Europe;^(Etymonline) the medieval English mile was 6,610 feet and the old London mile 5,000 feet.^(Etymonline) In England the ordinary mile was fixed by statute at 320 perches, 5,280 feet, in Elizabeth's reign.^(Etymonline) In Middle English it was also a unit of time, about twenty minutes, the time it took to walk a mile, from about 1330.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) It has meant “a great distance” since the 1580s,^(Etymonline) 1588 in the OED.^(OED 1989) The geographical or nautical mile, a minute of latitude, is from 1632,^(OED 1989) and a race of a mile from 1901.^(OED 1989) ''Go the extra mile'', from the early 20th century, echoes the Sermon on the Mount: “whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain”.^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * a. 800 – Old English mīl.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 971 – the Roman mile.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1330 – a unit of time.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1588 – a great distance.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1632 – the nautical mile.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1901 – a mile race.^(OED 1989)

+ * early 20th century – ''go the extra mile''.^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A unit of length equal to 5,280 [[foot|alt=feet]] or 1,760 [[yard]]s, about 1,609 metres.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A [[nautical mile]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A race one mile long.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # ''(informal)'' A great distance or amount: ''miles from anywhere''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[half-mile]]

+ * [[milelong]]

+ * [[milestone]]

+ * [[ton-mile]]

+ * [[air mile]]

+ * [[country mile]]

+ * [[geographic mile]]

+ * [[land mile]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[mileage]]

+ * [[million]]

+ * [[millennium]]

+ * [[millipede]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}