From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Mile \Mile\ (m[imac]l), n. [AS. m[imac]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.
[1913 Webster]
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.
[1913 Webster]
{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.
[1913 Webster]
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
mile
n 1: a unit of length equal to 1,760 yards or 5,280 feet;
exactly 1609.344 meters [syn: {mile}, {statute mile}, {stat
mi}, {land mile}, {international mile}, {mi}]
2: a unit of length used in navigation; exactly 1,852 meters;
historically based on the distance spanned by one minute of
arc in latitude [syn: {nautical mile}, {mile}, {mi}, {naut
mi}, {knot}, {international nautical mile}, {air mile}]
3: a large distance; "he missed by a mile"
4: a former British unit of length once used in navigation;
equivalent to 6,000 feet (1828.8 meters) [syn: {sea mile},
{mile}]
5: a former British unit of length equivalent to 6,080 feet
(1,853.184 meters); 800 feet longer than a statute mile [syn:
{nautical mile}, {naut mi}, {mile}, {mi}, {geographical
mile}, {Admiralty mile}]
6: an ancient Roman unit of length equivalent to 1620 yards
[syn: {mile}, {Roman mile}]
7: a Swedish unit of length equivalent to 10 km [syn: {mile},
{mil}, {Swedish mile}]
8: a footrace extending one mile; "he holds the record in the
mile"
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