With qualifiers, mile is also used to describe or translate a wide range of units derived from or roughly equivalent to the Roman mile (roughly 1.48 km), such as the nautical mile (now 1.852 km exactly), the Italian mile (roughly 1.852 km), and the Chinese mile (now 500 m exactly). The Romans divided their mile into 5,000 pedēs ("feet"), but the greater importance of furlongs in the Elizabethan-era England meant that the statute mile was made equivalent to 8 furlongs or 5,280 feet in 1593. This form of the mile then spread across the British Empire, some successor states of which continue to employ the mile. The US Geological Survey now employs the metre for official purposes, but legacy data from its 1927 geodetic datum has meant that a separate US survey mile(6336/3937 km) continues to see some use, although it was officially phased out in 2022. While most countries replaced the mile with the kilometre when switching to the International System of Units (SI), the international mile continues to be used in some countries, such as Liberia, the United Kingdom, the United States, and a number of countries with fewer than one million inhabitants, most of which are UK or US territories or have close historical ties with the UK or US.
The present international mile is usually what is understood by the unqualified term mile. When this distance needs to be distinguished from the nautical mile, the international mile may also be described as a land mile or statute mile.[2] In British English, statute mile may refer to the present international mile or to any other form of English mile since the 1593 Act of Parliament, which set it as a distance of 1,760 yards. Under American law, however, statute mile refers to the US survey mile.[3] Foreign and historical units translated into English as miles usually employ a qualifier to describe the kind of mile being used but this may be omitted if it is obvious from the context, such as a discussion of the 2nd-century Antonine Itinerary describing its distances in terms of miles rather than Roman miles.
Abbreviation
The mile has been variously abbreviated in English—with and without a trailing period—as "mi", "M", "ml", and "m".[4] The American National Institute of Standards and Technology now uses and recommends "mi" to avoid confusion with the SI metre (m) and millilitre (ml).[5] However, derived units such as miles per hour or miles per gallon continue to be abbreviated as "mph" and "mpg" rather than "mi/h" and "mi/gal". In the United Kingdom, road signs use "m" as the abbreviation for mile though height and width restrictions also use "m" as the symbol for the metre, which may be displayed alongside feet and inches.[6] The BBC style holds that "there is no acceptable abbreviation for 'miles'" and so it should be spelled out when used in describing areas.[7]
The Roman mile (mille passus,lit."thousand paces"; abbr.m.p.; also milia passuum[n 1] and mille) consisted of a thousand paces as measured by every other step—as in the total distance of the left foot hitting the ground 1,000 times.[citation needed] When Roman legionaries were well-fed and harshly driven in good weather, they thus created longer miles. The distance was indirectly standardised by Agrippa's establishment of a standard Roman foot (Agrippa's own) in 29 BC,[9] and the definition of a pace as 5feet. An Imperial Roman mile thus denoted 5,000Roman feet. Surveyors and specialised equipment such as the decempeda and dioptra then spread its use.[10]
In modern times, Agrippa's Imperial Roman mile was empirically estimated to have been about 1,618 yards (1,480m) in length, slightly less than the 1,760 yards (1,610m) of the modern international mile.[11]
The Roman mile also spread throughout Europe, with its local variations giving rise to the different units below.[citation needed]
Also arising from the Roman mile is the milestone. All roads radiated out from the Roman Forum throughout the Empire – 50,000 (Roman) miles of stone-paved roads. At every mile was placed a shaped stone. Originally these were obelisks made from granite, marble, or whatever local stone was available. On these was carved a Roman numeral, indicating the number of miles from the centre of Rome – the Forum. Hence, one always knew how far one was from Rome.[12]
Italian
The Italian mile (miglio, pl.miglia) was traditionally considered a direct continuation of the Roman mile, equal to 1000 paces,[13] although its actual value over time or between regions could vary greatly.[14] It was often used in international contexts from the Middle Ages into the 17th century[13] and is thus also known as the "geographical mile",[15] although the geographical mile is now a separate standard unit.
The Arabic mile (الميل, al-mīl) was not the common Arabic unit of length; instead, Arabs and Persians traditionally used the longer parasang or "Arabic league". The Arabic mile was, however, used by medieval geographers and scientists and constituted a kind of precursor to the nautical or geographical mile. It extended the Roman mile to fit an astronomical approximation of 1 arcminute of latitude measured directly north-and-south along a meridian. Although the precise value of the approximation remains disputed, it was somewhere between 1.8 and 2.0km.
The "old English mile" of the medieval and early modern periods varied but seems to have measured about 1.3internationalmiles (2.1km).[16][17] The old English mile varied over time and location within England.[17] The old English mile has also been defined as 79,200 or 79,320 inches (1.25 or 1.2519 statute miles).[18] The English long continued the Roman computations of the mile as 5000 feet, 1000 paces, or 8 longer divisions, which they equated with their "furrow's length" or furlong.[19]
The origins of English units are "extremely vague and uncertain",[20][citation needed] but seem to have been a combination of the Roman system with native British and Germanic systems both derived from multiples of the barleycorn.[n 2] Probably by the reign of Edgar in the 10th century, the nominal prototypephysical standard of English length was an arm-length iron bar (a yardstick) held by the king at Winchester;[21][20] the foot was then one-third of its length. HenryI was said to have made a new standard in 1101 based on his own arm.[20] Following the issuance of Magna Carta, the barons of Parliament directed John and his son to keep the king's standard measure (Mensura Domini Regis) and weight at the Exchequer,[20] which thereafter verified local standards until its abolition in the 19th century. New brass standards are known to have been constructed under HenryVII and ElizabethI.[23]
Arnold's c.1500Customs of London recorded a mile shorter than previous ones, coming to 0.947internationalmiles (5000 feet) or 1.524km.[19]
Statute
"Statute mile" redirects here. For the current statute mile in the United Kingdom, see §International. For the statute mile in the United States, see §U.S. survey.
The English statute mile was established by a Weights and MeasuresAct of Parliament in 1593 during the reign of Queen ElizabethI. The act on the Composition of Yards and Perches had shortened the length of the foot and its associated measures, causing the two methods of determining the mile to diverge.[24] Owing to the importance of the surveyor's rod in deeds and surveying undertaken under HenryVIII,[25] decreasing the length of the rod by 1⁄11 would have amounted to a significant tax increase. Parliament instead opted to maintain the mile of 8 furlongs (which were derived from the rod) and to increase the number of feet per mile from the old Roman value.[26] The applicable passage of the statute reads: "A Mile shall contain eight Furlongs, every Furlong forty Poles,[n 3] and every Pole shall contain sixteen Foot and an half."[28] The statute mile therefore contained 5,280feet or 1,760yards.[19] The distance was not uniformly adopted. Robert Morden had multiple scales on his 17th-century maps which included continuing local values: his map of Hampshire, for example, bore two different "miles" with a ratio of 1:1.23[29] and his map of Dorset had three scales with a ratio of 1:1.23:1.41.[30] In both cases, the traditional local units remained longer than the statute mile. The English statute mile was superseded in 1959 by the international mile by international agreement.
The Scots mile was longer than the English mile,[34] as mentioned by Robert Burns in the first verse of his poem "Tam o' Shanter". It comprised 8(Scots)furlongs divided into 320falls or faws (Scots rods).[35] It varied from place to place but the most accepted equivalencies are 1,976Imperialyards (1.123 statute miles or 1.81km).
It was legally abolished three times: first by a 1685 act of the Scottish Parliament,[36] again by the 1707 Treaty of Union with England,[37] and finally by the Weights and Measures Act 1824.[34] It had continued in use as a customary unit through the 18th century but had become obsolete by its final abolition.
Milestone on Mountbellew Bridge, erected c. 1760. Distances are given in Irish miles.
The Irish mile (míle or míle Gaelach) measured 2,240 yards: approximately 1.27 statute miles or 2.048 kilometres.[38][39] It was used in Ireland from the 16th century plantations until the 19th century, with residual use into the 20th century. The units were based on "English measure" but used a linear perch measuring 7 yards (6.4m) as opposed to the English rod of 5.5 yards (5.0m).[39]
Dutch
Scalebar on a 16th-century map made by Mercator. The scalebar is expressed in "Hours walking or common Flemish miles", and includes three actual scales: small, medium and big Flemish miles.
The Dutch mile (mijl) has had different definitions throughout history. One of the older definitions was 5,600 ells. But the length of an ell was not standardised, so that the length of a mile could range between 3,280m and 4,280m. The Dutch mile also has had historical definitions of one hour's walking (uur gaans), which meant around 5km, or 20,000 Amsterdam or Rhineland feet (respectively 5,660m or 6,280m). Besides the common Dutch mile, there is also the geographical mile. 15 geographical Dutch miles equal one degree of longitude on the equator. Its value changed as the circumference of the earth was estimated to a better precision. But at the time of usage, it was around 7,157m. The metric system was introduced in the Netherlands in 1816, and the metric mile became a synonym for the kilometre, being exactly 1,000m. Since 1870, the term mijl was replaced by the equivalent kilometer. Today, the word mijl is no longer used, except as part of certain proverbs and compound terms like mijlenver ("miles away").
German
Various historic miles and leagues from an 1848 German textbook, given in feet, metres, and fractions of a "degree of meridian"
The German mile (Meile) was 24,000 German feet. The standardised Austrian mile used in southern Germany and the Austrian Empire was 7.586km; the Prussian mile used in northern Germany was 7.5325km. Following its standardisation by Ole Rømer in the late 17th century, the Danish mile (mil) was precisely equal to the Prussian mile and likewise divided into 24,000 feet.[40] These were sometimes treated as equivalent to 7.5km. Earlier values had varied: the Sjællandske miil, for instance, had been 11.13km. The Germans also used a longer version of the geographical mile.
Breslau
The Breslau mile, used in Breslau, and from 1630 officially in all of Silesia, equal to 11,250 ells, or about 6,700 meters. The mile equaled the distance from the Piaskowa Gate all the way to Psie Pole (Hundsfeld). By rolling a circle with a radius of 5 ells through Piaskowa Island, Ostrów Tumski and suburban tracts, passing eight bridges on the way, the standard Breslau mile was determined.[41][42]
Saxon
The Saxon post mile (kursächsische Postmeile or Polizeimeile, introduced on occasion of a survey of the Saxon roads in the 1700s, corresponded to 2,000 Dresden rods, equivalent to 9.062 kilometres.[43]
Hungarian
The Hungarian mile (mérföld or magyar mérföld) varied from 8.3790km to 8.9374km before being standardised as 8.3536km.
Portuguese
The Portuguesemile (milha) used in Portugal and Brazil was 2.0873km prior to metrication.[44]
Russian
The Russian mile (миля or русская миля, russkaya milya) was 7.468km, divided into 7 versts.
Croatian
The Croatian mile (hrvatska milja), first devised by the JesuitStjepan Glavač on a 1673 map, is the length of an arc of the equator subtended by 1/10° or 11.13km exactly.[45][46] The previous Croatian mile, now known as the "ban mile" (banska milja), had been the Austrian mile given above.[47]
Ottoman
The Ottoman mile was 1,894.35 m (1.17709mi), which was equal to 5,000 Ottoman foot. After 1933, the Ottoman mile was replaced with the modern Turkish mile (1,853.181m).
International
The international mile is precisely equal to 1.609344km (or 25146/15625km as a fraction).[49] It was established as part of the 1959 international yard and pound agreement reached by the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the Union of South Africa,[50] which resolved small but measurable differences that had arisen from separate physical standards each country had maintained for the yard.[51] As with the earlier statute mile, it continues to comprise 1,760 yards or 5,280 feet.
The old Imperial value of the yard was used in converting measurements to metric values in India in a 1976 Act of the Indian Parliament.[52] However, the current National Topographic Database of the Survey of India is based on the metric WGS-84datum,[53] which is also used by the Global Positioning System.
The difference from the previous standards was 2ppm, or about 3.2millimetres (1⁄8inch) per mile. The U.S. standard was slightly longer and the old Imperial standards had been slightly shorter than the international mile. When the international mile was introduced in English-speaking countries, the basic geodetic datum in America was the North American Datum of 1927 (NAD27). This had been constructed by triangulation based on the definition of the foot in the Mendenhall Order of 1893, with 1foot=1200/3937 (≈0.304800609601) metres and the definition was retained for data derived from NAD27, but renamed the U.S. survey foot to distinguish it from the international foot.[54][n 4] Thus a survey mile =1200/3937 × 5280 (≈1609.347218694) metres. An international mile = 1609.344 / (1200/3937 × 5280) (=0.999998) survey miles.
The exact length of the land mile varied slightly among English-speaking countries until the international yard and pound agreement in 1959 established the yard as exactly 0.9144metres, giving a mile of exactly 1,609.344metres. The U.S. adopted this international mile for most purposes, but retained the pre-1959 mile for some land-survey data, terming it the U. S. survey mile. In the United States, statute mile normally refers to the survey mile,[55] about 3.219mm (1⁄8inch) longer than the international mile (the international mile is exactly 0.0002% less than the U.S. survey mile).
While most countries abandoned the mile when switching to the metric system, the international mile continues to be used in some countries, such as Liberia, Myanmar,[56] the United Kingdom[57] and the United States.[58] It is also used in a number of territories with less than a million inhabitants, most of which are U.K. or U.S. territories, or have close historical ties with the U.K. or U.S.: American Samoa,[59] Bahamas,[60] Belize,[61] British Virgin Islands,[62] Cayman Islands,[63] Dominica,[63] Falkland Islands,[64] Grenada,[65] Guam,[66] The N. Mariana Islands,[67] Samoa,[68] St. Lucia,[69] St. Vincent & The Grenadines,[70] St. Helena,[71] St. Kitts & Nevis,[72] the Turks & Caicos Islands,[73] and the U.S. Virgin Islands.[74] The mile is even encountered in Canada, though this is predominantly in rail transport and horse racing, as the roadways have been metricated since 1977.[75][76][77][78] The Republic of Ireland gradually replaced miles with kilometres, including in speed measurements; the process was completed in 2005.
U.S. survey
For the detailed calculations of international miles to survey miles and feet (above), see §International.
The U.S. survey mile is 5,280 U.S. survey feet, or 1,609.347 metres and 0.30480061 metres respectively.[79] Both are very slightly longer than the international mile and international foot. In the United States, the term statute mile formally refers to the survey mile,[3] but for most purposes, the difference of less than 1⁄8 inch (3.2mm) between the survey mile and the international mile (1609.344metres exactly) is insignificant—one international mile is 0.999998 U.S. survey miles—so statute mile can be used for either. But in some cases, such as in the U.S. State Plane Coordinate Systems (SPCSs), which can stretch over hundreds of miles,[80] the accumulated difference can be significant, so it is important to note that the reference is to the U.S. survey mile.
The United States redefined its yard in 1893, and this resulted in U.S. and Imperial measures of distance having very slightly different lengths.
The North American Datum of 1983 (NAD83), which replaced the NAD27, is defined in metres. State Plane Coordinate Systems were then updated, but the National Geodetic Survey left individual states to decide which (if any) definition of the foot they would use. All State Plane Coordinate Systems are defined in metres, and 42 of the 50 states only use the metre-based State Plane Coordinate Systems. However, eight states also have State Plane Coordinate Systems defined in feet, seven of them in U.S. survey feet and one in international feet.[80]
State legislation in the U.S. is important for determining which conversion factor from the metric datum is to be used for land surveying and real estate transactions, even though the difference (2ppm) is hardly significant, given the precision of normal surveying measurements over short distances (usually much less than a mile). Twenty-four states have legislated that surveying measures be based on the U.S. survey foot, eight have legislated that they be based on the international foot, and eighteen have not specified which conversion factor to use.[80]
On the utility of the nautical mile. Each circle shown is a great circle—the analogue of a line in spherical trigonometry—and hence the shortest path connecting two points on the globular surface. Meridians are great circles that pass through the poles.
The nautical mile was originally defined as one minute of arc along a meridian of the Earth.[84] Navigators use dividers to step off the distance between two points on the navigational chart, then place the open dividers against the minutes-of-latitude scale at the edge of the chart, and read off the distance in nautical miles.[85] The Earth is not perfectly spherical but an oblate spheroid, so the length of a minute of latitude increases by 1% from the equator to the poles. Using the WGS84 ellipsoid, the commonly accepted Earth model for many purposes today, one minute of latitude at the WGS84 equator is 6,046 feet and at the poles is 6,107.5 feet. The average is about 6,076 feet (about 1,852 metres or 1.15 statute miles).
In the United States, the nautical mile was defined in the 19th century as 6,080.2feet (1,853.249m), whereas in the United Kingdom, the Admiralty nautical mile was defined as 6,080feet (1,853.184m) and was about one minute of latitude in the latitudes of the south of the UK. Other nations had different definitions of the nautical mile, but it is now internationally defined to be exactly 1,852 metres (6,076.11548556 feet).[86]
Related units
The nautical mile per hour is known as the knot. Nautical miles and knots are almost universally used for aeronautical and maritime navigation, because of their relationship with degrees and minutes of latitude and the convenience of using the latitude scale on a map for distance measuring.
The data mile is used in radar-related subjects and is equal to 6,000 feet (1.8288 kilometres).[87] The radar mile is a unit of time (in the same way that the light year is a unit of distance), equal to the time required for a radar pulse to travel a distance of two miles (one mile each way). Thus, the radar statute mile is 10.8μs and the radar nautical mile is 12.4μs.[88]
The geographical mile is based upon the length of a meridian of latitude. The German geographical mile (geographische Meile) was previously 1⁄15° of latitude (7.4127km).[89]
Grid system
Cities in the continental United States often have streets laid out by miles. Detroit, Indianapolis, Chicago, Phoenix, Philadelphia, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and Miami, are several examples. Typically the largest streets are about a mile apart, with others at smaller intervals. In the Manhattan borough of New York City "streets" are close to 20 per mile, while the major numbered "avenues" are about six per mile. (Centerline to centerline, 42nd Street to 22nd Street is supposed to be 5,250 feet while 42nd Street to 62nd Street is supposed to be [clarification needed] 5,276ft 8 in.)[citation needed]
The informal term "metric mile" is used in some countries, in sports such as track and field athletics and speed skating, to denote a distance of 1,500 metres (0.932 miles). The 1500 meters is the premier middle distance running event in Olympic sports. In United States high-school competition, the term is sometimes used for a race of 1,600 metres (0.994 miles).[90]
The Scandinavian mile (mil) remains in common use in Norway and Sweden, where it has meant precisely 10km since metrication in 1889.[40] It is used in informal situations and in measurements of fuel consumption, which are often given as litres per mil. In formal situations (such as official road signs) only kilometres are given.
The Swedish mile was standardised as 36,000 Swedish feet or 10.6884 kilometres (6.6415 miles) in 1649; before that it varied by province from about 6 to 14.485km.[40]
Before metrication, the Norwegian mile was 11.298 kilometres (7.020 miles).
The traditional Finnish peninkulma was translated as Swedish: mil and also set equal to 10km during metrication in 1887, but is much less commonly used.
Comparison table
A comparison of the different lengths for a "mile", in different countries and at different times in history, is given in the table below. Leagues are also included in this list because, in terms of length, they fall in between the short West European miles and the long North, Central and Eastern European miles.
Over the course of time, the length of a yard changed several times and consequently so did the English, and from 1824, the imperial mile. The statute mile was introduced in 1592 during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I
On 1 July 1959 the imperial mile was standardized to an exact length in metres
01,609.3472
(statute) mile
United States
1893
today
1,760 yards
From 1959 also called the U.S. Survey Mile. From then its only utility has been land survey, before it was the standard mile. From 1893 its exact length in metres was: 3600/3937 × 1760
Measured at a circumference of 40,000km. Abbreviation: NM, nm
01,852.3
(for comparison)
1 meridian minute
01,853.181
nautical mile
Turkey
01,855.4
(for comparison)
1 equatorial minute
Although the NM was defined on the basis of the minute, it varies from the equatorial minute, because at that time the circumference of the equator could only be estimated at 40,000km.
Under the reign of Emperor Septimius Severus, this replaced the Roman mile as the official unit of distance in the Gallic and Germanic provinces, although there were regional and temporal variations.[92]
Even in English-speaking countries that have moved from the Imperial to the metric system (for example, Australia, Canada, or New Zealand), the mile is still used in a variety of idioms. These include:
"A miss is as good as a mile" (failure by a narrow margin is no better than any other failure)
"Give him an inch and he'll take a mile"– a corruption of "Give him an inch and he'll take an ell"[96][97] (the person in question will become greedy if shown generosity)
↑ When reading the document it helps to bear in mind that 999,998 = 3,937 × 254.
Related Research Articles
The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial and US customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one chain by one furlong, which is exactly equal to 10 square chains, 1⁄640 of a square mile, 4,840 square yards, or 43,560 square feet, and approximately 4,047 m2, or about 40% of a hectare. Based upon the international yard and pound agreement of 1959, an acre may be declared as exactly 4,046.8564224 square metres. The acre is sometimes abbreviated ac but is usually spelled out as the word "acre".
A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and United States customary units equal to one eighth of a mile, equivalent to any of 660 feet, 220 yards, 40 rods, 10 chains or approximately 201 metres. It is now mostly confined to use in horse racing, where in many countries it is the standard measurement of race lengths, and agriculture, where it is used to measure rural field lengths and distances.
The inch is a unit of length in the British imperial and the United States customary systems of measurement. It is equal to 1/36 yard or 1/12 of a foot. Derived from the Roman uncia ("twelfth"), the word inch is also sometimes used to translate similar units in other measurement systems, usually understood as deriving from the width of the human thumb.
The imperial system of units, imperial system or imperial units is the system of units first defined in the British Weights and Measures Act 1824 and continued to be developed through a series of Weights and Measures Acts and amendments.
A nautical mile is a unit of length used in air, marine, and space navigation, and for the definition of territorial waters. Historically, it was defined as the meridian arc length corresponding to one minute of latitude. Today the international nautical mile is defined as exactly 1,852 metres. The derived unit of speed is the knot, one nautical mile per hour.
United States customary units form a system of measurement units commonly used in the United States and most U.S. territories, since being standardized and adopted in 1832. The United States customary system developed from English units that were in use in the British Empire before the U.S. became an independent country. The United Kingdom's system of measures was overhauled in 1824 to create the imperial system, which was officially adopted in 1826, changing the definitions of some of its units. Consequently, while many U.S. units are essentially similar to their imperial counterparts, there are significant differences between the systems.
The yard is an English unit of length in both the British imperial and US customary systems of measurement equalling 3 feet or 36 inches. Since 1959 it has been by international agreement standardized as exactly 0.9144 meter. A distance of 1,760 yards is equal to 1 mile.
A fathom is a unit of length in the imperial and the U.S. customary systems equal to 6 feet (1.8288 m), used especially for measuring the depth of water. The fathom is neither an International Standard (SI) unit, nor an internationally accepted non-SI unit. Historically it was the maritime measure of depth in the English-speaking world but, apart from within the USA, charts now use metres.
The foot (pl. feet), standard symbol: ft, is a unit of length in the British imperial and United States customary systems of measurement. The prime symbol, ′, is a customarily used alternative symbol. In both customary and imperial units, one foot comprises 12 inches, and one yard comprises three feet.
A unit of length refers to any arbitrarily chosen and accepted reference standard for measurement of length. The most common units in modern use are the metric units, used in every country globally. In the United States the U.S. customary units are also in use. British Imperial units are still used for some purposes in the United Kingdom and some other countries. The metric system is sub-divided into SI and non-SI units.
The rod, perch, or pole is a surveyor's tool and unit of length of various historical definitions, often between approximately 3 and 8 meters. In modern US customary units it is defined as 16+1⁄2 US survey feet, equal to exactly 1⁄320 of a mile, or a quarter of a surveyor's chain, and is exactly 5.0292 meters. The rod is useful as a unit of length because integer multiples of it can form one acre of square measure (area). The 'perfect acre' is a rectangular area of 43,560 square feet, bounded by sides 660 feet long and 66 feet wide or, equivalently, 40 rods by 4 rods. An acre is therefore 160 square rods or 10 square chains.
The chain is a unit of length equal to 66 feet, used in both the US customary and Imperial unit systems. It is subdivided into 100 links. There are 10 chains in a furlong, and 80 chains in one statute mile. In metric terms, it is 20.1168 m long. By extension, chainage is the distance along a curved or straight survey line from a fixed commencing point, as given by an odometer.
A system of measurement is a collection of units of measurement and rules relating them to each other. Systems of measurement have historically been important, regulated and defined for the purposes of science and commerce. Systems of measurement in use include the International System of Units or SI, the British imperial system, and the United States customary system.
The following systems arose from earlier systems, and in many cases utilise parts of much older systems. For the most part they were used to varying degrees in the Middle Ages and surrounding time periods. Some of these systems found their way into later systems, such as the Imperial system and even SI.
A league is a unit of length. It was common in Europe and Latin America, but is no longer an official unit in any nation. Derived from an ancient Celtic unit and adopted by the Romans as the leuga, the league became a common unit of measurement throughout western Europe. Since the Middle Ages, many values have been specified in several countries.
A pace is a unit of length consisting either of one normal walking step, or of a double step, returning to the same foot. The normal pace length decreases with age and some health conditions. The word "pace" is also used for units inverse to speed, used mainly for walking and running, commonly minutes per kilometer.
The Dutch units of measurement used today are those of the metric system. Before the 19th century, a wide variety of different weights and measures were used by the various Dutch towns and provinces. Despite the country's small size, there was a lack of uniformity. During the Dutch Golden Age, these weights and measures accompanied the Dutch to the farthest corners of their colonial empire, including South Africa, New Amsterdam and the Dutch East Indies. Units of weight included the pond, ons and last. There was also an apothecaries' system of weights. The mijl and roede were measurements of distance. Smaller distances were measured in units based on parts of the body – the el, the voet, the palm and the duim. Area was measured by the morgen, hont, roede and voet. Units of volume included the okshoofd, aam, anker, stoop, and mingel. At the start of the 19th century the Dutch adopted a unified metric system, but it was based on a modified version of the metric system, different from the system used today. In 1869, this was realigned with the international metric system. These old units of measurement have disappeared, but they remain a colourful legacy of the Netherlands' maritime and commercial importance and survive today in a number of Dutch sayings and expressions.
The earliest recorded systems of weights and measures originate in the 3rd or 4th millennium BC. Even the very earliest civilizations needed measurement for purposes of agriculture, construction and trade. Early standard units might only have applied to a single community or small region, with every area developing its own standards for lengths, areas, volumes and masses. Often such systems were closely tied to one field of use, so that volume measures used, for example, for dry grains were unrelated to those for liquids, with neither bearing any particular relationship to units of length used for measuring cloth or land. With development of manufacturing technologies, and the growing importance of trade between communities and ultimately across the Earth, standardized weights and measures became critical. Starting in the 18th century, modernized, simplified and uniform systems of weights and measures were developed, with the fundamental units defined by ever more precise methods in the science of metrology. The discovery and application of electricity was one factor motivating the development of standardized internationally applicable units.
Both the British imperial measurement system and United States customary systems of measurement derive from earlier English unit systems used prior to 1824, that were the result of a combination of the local Anglo-Saxon units inherited from Germanic tribes and Roman units.
The imperial and US customary measurement systems are both derived from an earlier English system of measurement which in turn can be traced back to Ancient Roman units of measurement, and Carolingian and Saxon units of measure.
↑ "Historie der Postsäulen" (in German). Forschungsgruppe Kursächsische Postmeilensäulen e.V. und 1. Sächsischer Postkutschenverein e.V. Archived from the original on 5 February 2017. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
↑ Viličić, Marina; Lapaine, Miljenko (2016). "Hrvatska milja na starim kartama"[The Croatian Mile on Old Maps](PDF). Kartografija I Geoinformacije (in Croatian and English). Zagreb: Croatian Cartographic Society. 15 (25): 4–22. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
↑ Hastings Racecourse Fact BookArchived 18 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine Like Canadian railways, Canadian race tracks have not been metricated and continue to measure distance in miles, furlongs, and yards (see page 18 of the fact book).
↑ Leopold Carl Bleibtreu: Handbuch der Münz-, Maß- und Gewichtskunde und des Wechsel-Staatspapier-, Bank- und Aktienwesens europäischer und außereuropäischer Länder und Städte. Verlag von J. Engelhorn, Stuttgart, 1863, p. 332
↑ "Gliederung". vormetrische-laengeneinheiten.de. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
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