Difference between revisions of "Mile"

<p> '''Mile.''' A Roman measure of length, equal to 1618 English yards - 4854 feet, or about nine-tenths of an English mile. It is only once noticed in the Bible, &nbsp;Matthew 5:41, the usual method of reckoning, both in the New Testament, and in [[Josephus]] being by the stadium. The mile of the [[Jews]] is said to have been of two kinds, long or short, dependent on the length of the pace, which varied in different parts, the long pace being double the length of the short one. </p>

<p> MILE, n. L. mille passus, a thousand paces passus being dropped in common usage. A measure of length or distance, containing eight furlongs, 320 rods, poles or perches, 1760 yards, 5280 feet, or 80 chains. The Roman mile was a thousand paces, equal to 1600 yards English measure. </p>

<p> A Roman measure, 1,618 yards, only in &nbsp;Matthew 5:41. Roman milestones are still seen here and there in Palestine. Our mile is 1,760 yards. </p>

<p> (n.) A certain measure of distance, being equivalent in [[England]] and the United States to 320 poles or rods, or 5,280 feet. </p>

<p> <strong> MILE. </strong> See [[Weights]] and Measures. </p>

<p> <b> MILE. </b> —See Weights and Measures. </p>

<p> See WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. </p>

<p> (μίλιον '','' the Greek form of the Latin ''Milliarium,'' from ''Mille,'' a ''Thousand,'' &nbsp;Matthew 5:41), a Roman measure of 1000 geometrical paces ''(Passus)'' of five feet each, and therefore equal to 5000 Roman feet (see Smith's ''Dict. Of Greek And Roman Antiq.'' s.v. Milliare). Taking the Roman foot at 11.6496 English inches, the Roman mile would be 1618 English yards, or 142 yards less than the English statute mile (see [[Penny]] Cyclopaedia, s.v.). By another calculation, in which the foot is taken at 11.62 inches, the mile would be little more than 1614 yards. The number of Roman miles in a degree of a large circle of the earth is little more than 75 (see Ukert, Geogr. d. Griech. I, 2:75). The most common Latin term for the mile is mille passuum, or only the initials M.P.; sometimes the word passuum is omitted. The Roman mile contained eight Greek stadia (Pliny, 2:21). Hence it is usual with the earlier writers on Biblical geography to translate the Greek "stade" into the English "furlong" in stating the measurements of [[Eusebius]] and Jerome, who, like the early itineraries, always reckon by Roman miles. (See [[Furlong]]). </p> <p> The [[Talmudists]] also employed this measure (which they call מַיל, Otho, ''Lex. Rabb.'' page 421), but estimate it at 7½ stadia (Baba Mezia, 33:1), as also the Roman historians frequently reckon it, without geographical or mathematical accuracy (Forbiger, Handbuch d. alt. Geogr. 1:555). Mile-stones were set up along the roads constructed by the Romans in [[Palestine]] (Reland, Pulaest. page 401 sq.), and to this day they may be seen, here and there, in that country (Robinson, Bib. Res. 2:161, note; 2:306). The mile of the Jews is said to have been of two kinds, long or short, dependent on the length of the pace, which varied in different parts, the long pace being double the length of the short one (Carpzov, Apparat. page 679). (See [[Metrology]]). </p>

<p> ''''' mı̄l ''''' ( μίλιον , <i> ''''' mı́lion ''''' </i> , Latin <i> mille </i> <i> passus </i> , <i> milia </i> <i> passuum </i> ): A thousand paces, equal to 1,618 English yards. (&nbsp; Matthew 5:41 ). See [[Weights And Measures]] . </p>