Etymology
From Middle English, borrowed from Old French longitude, from Latin longitūdō (“length, a measured length”), from longus (“long”).
Noun
longitude (countable and uncountable, plural longitudes)
- (geography) Angular distance measured west or east of the prime meridian.
- (geography, astronomy) Any imaginary line perpendicular to the equator and part of a great circle passing through the North Pole and South Pole.
Derived terms
- longitudinal
Credits
New World Encyclopedia writers and editors copied and adjusted this Wiktionary entry in accordance with NWE standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit for this article is due to both New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions at Wiktionary is accessible to researchers here:
