Definition

Noun: A Swedish mile is a traditional unit of linear measurement used in Sweden and some other Scandinavian countries. It is not equivalent to the international mile (1.609 km) or the nautical mile (1.852 km). Its standard modern definition is a distance of 10 kilometers (approximately 6.21 international miles).

Usage

The term is used to specify this particular historical and regional measurement, primarily in contexts discussing geography, history, or travel within Scandinavia. - It functions as a countable noun (e.g., a Swedish mile, ten Swedish miles). - It is often used to describe distances on older maps, in historical texts, or in colloquial speech in Sweden, though the metric system is now official.

Examples

• Noun:
  • The next village is about two Swedish miles from here. (This means the village is approximately 20 km away.)
  • On the old map, the distance was marked as three Swedish miles.
  • He walked a full Swedish mile along the coastal path.

Advanced Usage

• The term can appear in historical or comparative discussions of measurement systems.
  • In the 18th century, the Swedish mile was standardized to its current 10-kilometer length, replacing various local definitions.
• It is sometimes used informally in modern Swedish () to estimate driving distances, though road signs use kilometers.

Variants and Related Words

• Mil (n): The Swedish word for this unit. In everyday Swedish, "en mil" means exactly 10 kilometers.
• Scandinavian mile: A more general term that can refer to similar historical units used in Norway and Denmark, though their exact lengths historically varied.

Synonyms

• 10 kilometers: The precise metric equivalent.
• Metric mile (informal, contextual): Sometimes used loosely, but this can be ambiguous as it may refer to 1500 meters in athletics.

Notes on Different Meanings

• Not to be confused with:
  • Mile (statute mile): An imperial and US customary unit equal to 1.609344 km.
  • Nautical mile: A unit used in aviation and maritime contexts, equal to 1.852 km.
  • The word "mile" alone, without "Swedish," almost never refers to the Swedish mile in English contexts.

Noun

1. a Swedish unit of length equivalent to 10 km