Leagues
Abbreviation/Symbol:
L
Unit of:
Worldwide use:
A league was originally the distance a person could walk in an hour, so it varied from region to region. It was later fixed at three miles, or 4.828km, and has since been replaced by kilometers and miles.
Definition:
The exact definition of a league can vary depending on the region and time period being referred to. In general, a league is considered to be a measure of distance equal to three miles or approximately 4.828 kilometers.
Origin:
The league comes from the late Latin leuca, which was itself borrowed from Gaulish, and the Romans counted it as 1.5 Roman miles, about 2.2 kilometers. The 20,000 leagues of Jules Verne's novel are a distance travelled, not a depth.
A league was often defined as the distance a person could walk in an hour, so it varied with the country: in medieval Europe it ranged from about 2.4 to 7.5 kilometers, or 1.5 to 4.7 miles.
Common references:
The rough distance walked in an hour = 1L
Usage context:
A league was originally the distance a person could walk in about an hour, so it varied from country to country. The nautical league is 3 nautical miles, 5.556 kilometers, and the land league was usually around 3 miles. Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Seas is a distance travelled, not a depth.