میل

See also: ميل

Ottoman Turkish

Etymology 1

From Arabic مِيل (mīl), from Ancient Greek μήλη (mḗlē, “probe”).

Noun

میل • (mil)

any pointed instrument, acute tool of iron
1. probe
  Synonyms: اسقندیل (iskandil), سونده (sonda)
2. a style wherewith stibium is applied to the lashes, needle for makeup
3. drill, crowbar

Descendants

Turkish: mil

Etymology 2

From Arabic مَيْل (mayl), verbal noun of مَالَ (māla, “to lean”).

Noun

میل • (meyl)

inclination, slant
pivot, axle

Etymology 3

From Arabic مِيل (mīl), from Latin mīlle passuum (literally “a thousand of paces”).

Noun

میل • (mil)

mile
milestone, column, obelisk, boundary stone

Descendants

Turkish: mil

References

Meyer, Gustav (1893) “Türkische Studien. I. Die griechischen und romanischen Bestandtheile im Wortschatze des Osmanisch-Türkischen”, in Sitzungsberichte der philosophisch-historischen Classe der Kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften (in German), volume 128, Wien: In Commission bei F. Tempsky, page 48
Zenker, Julius Theodor (1876) “میل”, in Türkisch-arabisch-persisches Handwörterbuch, volume 2 (overall work in German and French), Leipzig: Wilhelm Engelmann, page 900

Persian

Etymology

Borrowed from Arabic مَيْل (mayl).

Pronunciation

(Classical Persian) IPA^(key): /ˈmajl/

(Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [mäjl]
- (Kabuli) IPA^(key): [mäjl]
- (Hazaragi) IPA^(key): [mäjl̥]

(Iran, formal) IPA^(key): [mejl̥]

(Tajik, formal) IPA^(key): [mäjl]

Readings
Classical reading^?	mayl
Dari reading^?	mayl
Iranian reading^?	meyl
Tajik reading^?	mayl

Noun

میل • (meyl)

(deferential, formal) inclination
- c. 1520, Selim I of the Ottoman Empire, edited by Benedek Péri, The Persian Dīvān of Yavuz Sulṭān Selīm, Budapest, Hungary: Research Centre for the Humanities, Eötvös Loránd Research Network, →ISBN, page 140:
  بباغ خلد نبود تازه سروی چون قد یارم
  دریغ اما که میلی سوی هر خار و خسی دارد
  ba-bāġ-i xuld na-bwad tāza sarwē čūn qad-i yāram
  dirēġ ammā ki maylē sō-yi har xār u xasē dārad
  No fresh cypress in the Eternal Garden is like my beloved's stature,
  But alas that she is inclined towards every thorn and weed!
  (Classical Persian transliteration)

Derived terms

میل داشتن (meyl dâštan, “to want”)
میل فرمودن (meyl farmudan, “to eat, to take”)
میل کردن (meyl kardan, “to eat, to take”)

Urdu

Etymology

Borrowed from Arabic مِيل (mīl).

Pronunciation

(Standard Urdu) IPA^(key): /miːl/
Rhymes: -iːl

Noun

مِیل • (mīl) m (Hindi spelling मील)

mile (unit of measurement)

Declension

Declension of **میل**
	singular	plural
direct	میل (mīl)	میل (mīl)
oblique	میل (mīl)	میلوں (mīlõ)
vocative	میل (mīl)	میلو (mīlo)

References

“میل”, in اُردُو لُغَت (urdū luġat) (in Urdu), Ministry of Education: Government of Pakistan, 2017.
“میل”, in ریخْتَہ لُغَت (rexta luġat) - Rekhta Dictionary [Urdu dictionary with meanings in Hindi & English], Noida, India: Rekhta Foundation, 2025.