English
Miles
Miles may come from Latin mīles ‘soldier’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmīles‘soldier’uncertain
- Englishearliest quotation 1858Miles
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmīles‘soldier’uncertain
- Englishearliest quotation 1858Miles
Earliest quotation: 1858, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: “Clad in doublet and hose, and boots of Cordovan…”
The story
From Old French given name Milo, of problematic origin, possibly from an unknown Germanic element, or a short form of Slavic names beginning with mil- "grace, favor".uncertain The source flags this step as uncertain. The English form is associated by folk etymology with Latin mīles (‘soldier’).folk etymology The source marks this as unproven or a folk etymology. Quoted, not asserted. As a surname, it is also derived from a Middle English Miles form of Michael.
Linked words
through Latin mīles ‘soldier’
Today it means
name A male given name from an uncertain origin.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin mīles / Miles