mille passus

The term "mille passus" originates from Latin, where "mille" means thousand and "passus" means pace. This ancient Roman unit of distance, the mile, was literally a "thousand paces".12

The Roman mile was equivalent to 5,000 Roman feet. Over time, the definition of the mile evolved. In England, around 1500, it was defined as eight furlongs. Later, during Queen Elizabeth I's reign, the mile was standardized to 5,280 feet. This 5,280-foot measurement is the statute mile commonly used today. Other variations, like the Irish and Scottish miles, were also used historically. The nautical mile, used in marine and air transportation, has a different definition based on one minute of arc along a meridian.23