Longitude

Pronunciation

• RP IPA: /ˈlÉ’ndʒɪˌtjuːd/, /ˈlÉ’ndʒɪˌtʃuːd/
• GenAm IPA: /ˈlɑːndʒəˌtuːd/
• Australia IPA: /ˈlɔŋɡətʃʉːd/

Origin

From Middle English, from Latin longitūdō ("length, a measured length"), from longus ("long").

Full definition of longitude

Noun

1. Angular distance measured west or east of the prime meridian.
• 2012-03, William E. Carter, Merri Sue Carter, The British Longitude Act Reconsidered, But was it responsible governance to pass the Longitude Act without other efforts to protect British seamen? Or might it have been subterfuge—a disingenuous attempt to shift attention away from the realities of their life at sea.
2. Any imaginary line perpendicular to the equator and part of a great circle passing through the North Pole and South Pole.
3. (archaic) Length.
• 1831, Francis Griffin, The American Quarterly Review Chapter Griffin's Remains, His shoulders are remarkably sloping, giving an appearance of great longitude to his neck.

Synonyms

• (half of a great circle) meridian

Derived terms

• longitudinal