measurement
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Also known as: leuga
Written and fact-checked by
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
league, any of several European units of measurement ranging from 2.4 to 4.6 statute miles (3.9 to 7.4 km). In English-speaking countries the land league is generally accepted as 3 statute miles (4.83 km), although varying lengths from 7,500 feet to 15,000 feet (2.29 to 4.57 km) were sometimes employed. An ancient unit derived from the Gauls and introduced into England by the Normans, the league was estimated by the Romans to be equal to 1,500 paces—a pace, or passus, in Roman measure being nearly 5 feet (1.5 metres).
Land leagues of about 2.63 miles (4.23 km) were used by the Spanish in early surveys of parts of the American Southwest. At one time the term was also used as a unit of area measurement. Old California surveys show square leagues equal to 4,439 acres (1,796 hectares). In the late 18th century the league also came to refer to the distance a cannon shot could be fired at menacing ships offshore. This resulted in the 3-mile offshore territorial limit.
