Why are there two different definitions that are close but not exactly identical?
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There used to be all sorts of units called mile before they were almost all replaced by the metric system.
They were all roughly similar length based on the idea of a thousand steps, but each version was different.
The mile as used in America and the nautical mile along with a few obscure others are the lone survivors of this family
The nautical mile and the unit of knots (and cable) that is based on it, actually has a similar definition as the meter originally had. They are both based on the circumference of the earth.
Just that the meter actually is based on dividing the distance between equator and pole into 10,000,000 parts, while the nautical mile is based on dividing the same distance into 90 degrees and each degree into 60 minutes. One minute of latitude is a nautical mile.
This is useful when you navigate with maps where there is a line ever minute of latitude and longitude.
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