Etymology Map
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Mile

3 stages from Latin to English.

Today it means a unit of distance equal to 1,760 yards (about 1.6 km)

Where does the word "mile" come from? It comes from Latin milia passuum, passing through Old English before entering English (1300s).

1
Stage 1 of 3
milia passuum
Latin · classical
"a thousand paces"
'a thousand paces' (double steps), about 1,480 metres; Augustus set up the Golden Milestone in the Roman Forum in 20 BC as the notional start of the empire's roads
2
Stage 2 of 3
mīl
Old English · medieval
"mile"
borrowed through West Germanic (compare German Meile), probably from the milestones along Roman roads
3
Stage 3 of 3
mile
English · 1300s
"unit of distance"
the statute mile of 8 furlongs, 5,280 feet, was fixed by an Act of Parliament under Elizabeth I in 1593
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Read the full story

Mile’s story begins in Latin: milia passuum meant “a thousand paces.” 'a thousand paces' (double steps), about 1,480 metres; Augustus set up the Golden Milestone in the Roman Forum in 20 BC as the notional start of the empire's roads. By medieval, the word had taken hold in Old English as mīl. Borrowed through West Germanic (compare German Meile), probably from the milestones along Roman roads. It reached English by 1300s as mile. The statute mile of 8 furlongs, 5,280 feet, was fixed by an Act of Parliament under Elizabeth I in 1593. Today, mile means a unit of distance equal to 1,760 yards (about 1.6 km).