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Home/Questions/ How could the word mile be derived from the Latin phrase mille passuum, which means 1,000 paces when it takes at least twice that many steps to walk a mile?
How could the word mile be derived from the Latin phrase mille passuum, which means 1,000 paces when it takes at least twice that many steps to walk a mile?
The 1,000 paces referred to were those of the Roman Legion, whose formal parade step consisted of two steps that covered a distance of 5.2 feet. That would make a mile 5,200 feet – very close to today’s statute mile of 5,280 feet