entry
latitude
/ˈlætɪtuːd/North-south position; freedom from narrow restrictions
From Proto-Indo-European *stleto- (to spread).
from PIE *stleto- , suffixed form of root *stele- "to spread, to extend" (source also of Old Church Slavonic steljo "to...
from Latin latitudo "breadth, width, extent, size,"
+1 more sourcefrom Old French latitude (13c.) and directly
+1 more sourcefrom Old French latitude (13c.) and directly
+1 more sourcefrom Old French latitude (13c.) and directly
+1 more sourceWord Ancestry
from PIE *stleto- , suffixed form of root *stele- "to spread, to extend" (source also of Old Church Slavonic steljo "to...
from Latin latitudo "breadth, width, extent, size,"
+1 more sourcefrom Old French latitude (13c.) and directly
+1 more sourcefrom Old French latitude (13c.) and directly
+1 more sourcefrom Old French latitude (13c.) and directly
+1 more sourcePicture an ancient map: its east-west span seemed enormous, while its inhabited world was comparatively narrow from north to south. Latin geographers called that shorter “breadth” latitūdō, built from lātus, “broad,” a word whose ancestry may reach back to the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European form *stleto-, “to spread.” English borrowed latitude from Old French in the late 14th century, and the mapmaker’s idea of breadth soon became an angular measurement running from the Equator to the poles. That is why lines of latitude are called parallels: they spread east-west without converging, while latitude itself measures how far north or south you have wandered. In another figurative turn, latitude became room to maneuver—so having “latitude” means that an old idea of physical breadth has become intellectual elbow room.
The Story
Picture an ancient map: its east-west span seemed enormous, while its inhabited world was comparatively narrow from north to south. Latin geographers called that shorter “breadth” latitūdō, built from lātus, “broad,” a word whose ancestry may reach back to the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European form *stleto-, “to spread.” English borrowed latitude from Old French in the late 14th century, and the mapmaker’s idea of breadth soon became an angular measurement running from the Equator to the poles. That is why lines of latitude are called parallels: they spread east-west without converging, while latitude itself measures how far north or south you have wandered. In another figurative turn, latitude became room to maneuver—so having “latitude” means that an old idea of physical breadth has become intellectual elbow room.
Modern Usage
A niche Urban Dictionary usage describing an annoying or “square” person, based on a wordplay with attitude.
Kin & Kindred
From '*stleto-'·to spread, extend; hence broadness
Derived Terms
English words from this root
Sources
Free Dictionary
Urban Dictionary
Wikipedia
Wiktionary