Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1965 (SND Vol. VI).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
MYLES, n.pl. Also miles; milds; mails, also in sing. mile. [məilz]
1. A name given to various edible varieties of the Chenopodeae, esp. the white goosefoot, Chenopodium album, and the mercury goosefoot, Chenopodium Bonus Henricus (Ayr. 1811 W. Aiton Agric. Ayr. 675, mails; Lth., Rxb. 1825 Jam.; Lnk. 1831 W. Patrick Plants Lnk. 131; Uls. 1880 Patterson Gl.; Ayr., Dmf., Uls. 1963). Cf. midden-myles s.v. Midden, n., 2. (34). Also in n.Eng. dial.Sc. 1743 R. Maxwell Select Trans. 226:
Had this Husbandry been general in the dear Years, the Poor had not been reduced to the Necessity of living on Arnots, Myles, or the like.Bwk. 1853 G. Johnston Botany E. Borders 171:
It is an old saying, “Boil Myles in water, and chop them with butter, and you will have a good dish.”
2. Applied to several species of the orache family (Ayr. 1886 B. & H. Plant Names 334), e.g. the spreading halbert-leaved orache, Atriplex patula (‡Rxb. 1923 Watson W.-B.).
3. The wild celery, Apium graveolens (Rxb. 1825 Jam., mile). This appears to be a somewhat doubtful usage.s.Sc. 1825 Jam.:
Mile. The tradition of the South of Scotland asserts that those who were persecuted for their adherence to Presbytery, during the reigns of Charles II and James II, in their hiding places often fed on this plant.
