Mileage
/ˈmaɪlɪdʒ/noun
The total distance traveled in miles, or the number of miles a vehicle can travel per unit of fuel.
Did you know?Mileage comes from mile, ultimately from Latin milia passuum, meaning “a thousand paces,” a reminder that even modern efficiency language is haunted by Roman marching distance.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*mes-
“to measure”
Latin
Latin
mille
“a thousand”
Latin
Latin
milia passuum
“a thousand paces, the Roman mile”
Old English
English
mīl
“mile”
14th–15th Century
English
mileage
“an amount or rate measured by miles”
Modern English
English
mileage
“distance traveled in miles or fuel efficiency expressed in miles per unit”