Milometer

Milometer

Noun · /maɪˈlɒm.ɪ.tər/

Definition

A device in a vehicle that measures and records the total distance travelled in miles; the odometer in its British English mile-measuring form. Also spelled mileometer.

Origin

From mile (from Old English mīl, from Latin milia, plural of mille, a thousand — a Roman mile being one thousand paces) + -o- (connecting vowel) + meter (from Greek metron, measure). The compound thus means a measure of miles. The word is primarily British English; American English uses odometer (from Greek hodos, road or way, + metron). The alternation between milometer and mileometer reflects uncertainty about whether to include the terminal e of mile in the compound.