entry
longitude
/ˈlɒndʒɪtjuːd/Angular east-west position on Earth or in space
From Proto-Indo-European, through Latin long (long).
from Latin longitudo "length, long duration,"
+1 more sourcefrom Old French longitude
from Old French longitude
Word Ancestry
from Latin longitudo "length, long duration,"
+1 more sourcefrom Old French longitude
from Old French longitude
Picture a medieval scholar measuring the heavens with a brass instrument: latitude tells how far north or south, while longitude stretches sideways around the globe. The word began much more simply, as Latin longus, “long,” which is related to Germanic forms behind English long and ultimately to the Indo-European root *del-, “long.” Latin turned that adjective into longitūdō, literally “length” or “long duration,” and Old French passed longitude into Middle English in the late fourteenth century. The geographic sense became especially urgent at sea, where knowing east-west position could mean reaching a port—or vanishing into the ocean; King Charles II founded Greenwich’s Royal Observatory in 1675 specifically to help solve the longitude problem. In 1884, Greenwich became the reference point for the world’s prime meridian, so every degree of longitude is, in effect, another measured slice of “long” wrapped around Earth.
The Story
Picture a medieval scholar measuring the heavens with a brass instrument: latitude tells how far north or south, while longitude stretches sideways around the globe. The word began much more simply, as Latin longus, “long,” which is related to Germanic forms behind English long and ultimately to the Indo-European root *del-, “long.” Latin turned that adjective into longitūdō, literally “length” or “long duration,” and Old French passed longitude into Middle English in the late fourteenth century. The geographic sense became especially urgent at sea, where knowing east-west position could mean reaching a port—or vanishing into the ocean; King Charles II founded Greenwich’s Royal Observatory in 1675 specifically to help solve the longitude problem. In 1884, Greenwich became the reference point for the world’s prime meridian, so every degree of longitude is, in effect, another measured slice of “long” wrapped around Earth.
Modern Usage
A boastful or cocky attitude, according to a slang entry
Kin & Kindred
From 'long'·long; extended in space or time
Derived Terms
English words from this root