latitude

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈlætɪtjuːd/, /ˈlætɪtʃuːd/ (UK); /ˈlætɪtud/, /ˈlætətjud/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English latitude, borrowed from Old French latitude (“width”),^[2][3][4] and directly from Latin lātitūdō (“breadth, width, extent”),^{[2][3][4][5][6]} from lātus “wide”.^{[2][3][4][5][6]} The Latin adjective goes back to Old Latin stlātus, perhaps from the Proto-Indo-European root *stele- “to spread”.^[4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Breadth, width, and geographical latitude (about 1390).^[3][4][7]

Semantic evolution

The geographical and astronomical senses arose in the late 14th century from the “breadth” of the known world as drawn on a map.^[4] By the early 15th century the word was used figuratively for an allowable degree of variation,^[3][4] and by 1605 for freedom from narrow restrictions, as in liberal interpretation.^[7] In photography latitude is the range of exposures that still give a usable image (1889).^[7][2]

Timeline

• c. 1390 – breadth; geographical latitude.^[3][4][7]
• before 1425 – the range within which something may vary.^[3][4]
• 1605 – freedom from narrow restrictions.^[7]
• 1777 – latitudinal.^[4]
• 1889 – in photography, the range of usable exposures.^[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The angular distance north or south of the Earth's equator, measured in degrees along a meridian.
2. A region of the Earth considered in relation to its distance from the equator.
3. (astronomy) The angular distance of a celestial body north or south of the ecliptic.
4. Freedom from normal restraints or limitations; scope.
5. (photography) The range of exposures over which a film gives usable images.
6. (archaic) Extent; breadth.

Word family

• latitudinal
• latitudinally
• colatitude
• latitudinarian
• horse latitudes

Related words

• longitude
• dilate

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press