The Canon EF-S 60mm macro lens I have here, can definitely focus very close to the subject -- about 9cm according to my measuring tape.

That's pretty good, though my old Nikon E990 "compact" digital could get within 2cm.

I think the idea of a macro lens, is that it is one which produces 1:1 or better magnification. The distance isn't important for that, though it is important for other reasons.

Macro lenses also tend to have a longer focus mechanism -- it takes more turns of the focus ring to make large adjustments. This allows for much more precision in focussing, given the extremely short depth-of-field at close distances.

Cheers