How do you pronounce the last syllable of "chamomile"

[Morning Glory]

I think it should be like "mile" and DH thinks it should be like "meal". We both grew up in the Midwest, although my parents aren't from here (one from the UK and one from New York). Dictionary.com says my way is the British pronunciation and his is the American, although I'm pretty sure I hear my pronunciation more than his here. I am curious about regional differences in pronunciation of this word. How do Canadians pronounce it?

[YttriumNitrate]

When in doubt, I go with No Doubt.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ie4tZNz3hD8 at 0:28

[Kris]

Meal.
Huh. I’ve never heard it pronounced any other way.

[John Galt incarnate!]

Meal.
Huh. I’ve never heard it pronounced any other way.

+1

[BECABECA]

I pronounce it mile, wife pronounces it meal. I grew up in California, she grew up in Utah. But I think I first heard the word in a BBC Peter Rabbit cartoon when I was a kid, so that would make sense if mile is the British pronunciation.

[TVRodriguez]

I pronounce it "manzanilla."  Lol, okay, just kidding.

I go with "camo-meal."  Grew up in NJ of a midwestern mom and foreign-born dad, FWIW.

[Sibley]

I've heard both. And I've used both because talking is hard.

[RetiredAt63]

Mile.  Unless you are French.

[RWD]

I'm pretty sure I've never spoken the word chamomile in my entire life. I voted for "mile" because that's what goes through my head when I read it.

[cerat0n1a]

Mile.  Unless you are French.

Never heard anything but 'mile' in the UK. It was borrowed from French into English in the 1200s, definitely long enough to be considered an English word rather than a French word. Especially as 'mile' was pronounced with two syllables rather than one in English at the time.

(Also, there are two plants from different species with the same name. One is the kind that is used to make tea/herbal remedies from its daisy-like white flowers. The other is a ground cover plant with foliage that smells similar when crushed - you can grow a camomile lawn from this one, provided you have the right soil type and don't want to walk on it very often.)

[jeroly]

I just heard somebody tell the story of how they had a work colleague who confidently proclaimed at a work lunch that they KNEW that it was pronounced “Cha-Mom-Ill-Eee”, only to then order it at the table and have the waitress have no clue what he was requesting.

[GuitarStv]

Meal.  Like saying honey (miel) in French.

[Hula Hoop]

I just heard somebody tell the story of how they had a work colleague who confidently proclaimed at a work lunch that they KNEW that it was pronounced “Cha-Mom-Ill-Eee”, only to then order it at the table and have the waitress have no clue what he was requesting.

That's more or less the Italian pronounciation - camomila - pronounced ca- moh- MEE- lah.  I hate the stuff personally.  Just the smell of chamomile makes my stomach turn.

[frugalnacho]

I say it like meal, but I can't help of think of the mile pronunciation from this lonely island video (at 1:50 mark):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0DeIqJm4vM

[EvenSteven]

Huh, I've always said it as "mill"

[SunnyDays]

This Canadian pronounces it “meal.”

[dougules]

Definitely "meal" here in AL.  I vaguely remember having heard "mile" before, but I do like Britcoms. 

[RetiredAt63]

Meal.  Like saying honey (miel) in French.

But miel is not meal, it is me-el. 

[seattleite]

I grew up only ever encountering it in a Spanish-speaking country so I pronounce it mahn-sa-nee-ah.

OT in an OT thread. Ha!

[sui generis]

I generally pronounce it meal, but might say mile if the mood strikes me. I've heard them both frequently enough to think of them both as equally valid alternates. I'm a Californian.

[GuitarStv]

Meal.  Like saying honey (miel) in French.

But miel is not meal, it is me-el.

Depends on where you learned your French.  I grew up in a half French speaking nordern Canadian town.  French there is a little less polished than in other parts of the world.  Like on class trip when I learned the french way of saying that our bus tire had a puncture from the schoolbus driver:

Colis!  C'est un Gaddam flet tie-yer!


:P

[J Boogie]

Huh, I've always said it as "mill"

Yeah, same. I guess it's mile, but TBH I'll probably continue saying mill.

[PDXTabs]

I generally pronounce it meal, but might say mile if the mood strikes me.

Me too. The German-American half of my family says meal. The British half of my family says mile. Lately I've been pronouncing things the British way whenever I remember to just to be different.

[meghan88]

I've heard both. And I've used both because talking is hard.

HAHAHA!!  Good one.  Yes.

[MissNancyPryor]

Meal. 

I can't take pronunciation advice from Brits who add a completely fabricated syllable to "aluminum." 

It is not al-u-min-i-um.

[PDXTabs]

I can't take pronunciation advice from Brits who add a completely fabricated syllable to "aluminum." 

It is not al-u-min-i-um.

No they don't.

[SunnyDays]

Meal. 

I can't take pronunciation advice from Brits who add a completely fabricated syllable to "aluminum." 

It is not al-u-min-i-um.

Hah.  Mispronouncing words is their "speciality."

[RWD]

I can't take pronunciation advice from Brits who add a completely fabricated syllable to "aluminum." 

It is not al-u-min-i-um.

No they don't.

That article states that the name "aluminum" was first.

[PDXTabs]

That article states that the name "aluminum" was first.

Actually it states that "alumium" was first, but that's not the point. British people aren't mispronouncing aluminum, they are correctly pronouncing aluminium. Both, by the way, are correct spellings according to my web browser.