What does longitude mean?

Definitions for longitude
ˈlɒn dʒɪˌtud, -ˌtyudlon·gi·tude

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word longitude.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. longitudenoun

    the angular distance between a point on any meridian and the prime meridian at Greenwich

Wiktionary

  1. longitudenoun

    Angular distance measured west or east of the prime meridian.

  2. longitudenoun

    Any imaginary line perpendicular to the equator and part of a great circle passing through the North Pole and South Pole.

  3. longitudenoun

    Length.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. LONGITUDEnoun

    Etymology: longitude, French; longitudo, Latin.

    The ancients did determine the longitude of all rooms, which were longer than broad, by the double of their latitude. Henry Wotton, Architect.

    The variety of the alphabet was in mere longitude only; but the thousand parts of our bodies may be diversified by situation in all the dimensions of solid bodies; which multiplies all over and over again, and overwhelms the fancy in a new abyss of unfathomable number. Richard Bentley, Sermons.

    This universal gravitation is an incessant and uniform action by certain and established laws, according to quantity of matter and longitude of distance, that it cannot be destroyed nor impaired. Richard Bentley, Sermons.

    Some of Magellanus’s company were the first that did compass the world through all the degrees of longitude. George Abbot.

    To conclude;
    Of longitudes, what other way have we,
    But to mark when and where the dark eclipses be? John Donne.

    His was the method of discovering the longitude by bomb vessels. Scriblerus Club , Mart. Scrib.

    The longitude of a star is its distance from the first point of numeration toward the east, which first point, unto the ancients, was the vernal equinox. Thomas Browne, Vulg. Errours.

Wikipedia

  1. Longitude

    Longitude (, AU and UK also ) is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east–west position of a point on the surface of the Earth, or another celestial body. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees and denoted by the Greek letter lambda (λ). Meridians are semicircular lines running from pole to pole that connect points with the same longitude. The prime meridian defines 0° longitude; by convention the International Reference Meridian for the Earth passes near the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, England on the island of Great Britain. Positive longitudes are east of the prime meridian, and negative ones are west. Because of the Earth's rotation, there is a close connection between longitude and time measurement. Scientifically precise local time varies with longitude: a difference of 15° longitude corresponds to a one-hour difference in local time, due to the differing position in relation to the Sun. Comparing local time to an absolute measure of time allows longitude to be determined. Depending on the era, the absolute time might be obtained from a celestial event visible from both locations, such as a lunar eclipse, or from a time signal transmitted by telegraph or radio. The principle is straightforward, but in practice finding a reliable method of determining longitude took centuries and required the effort of some of the greatest scientific minds. A location's north–south position along a meridian is given by its latitude, which is approximately the angle between the equatorial plane and the normal from the ground at that location. Longitude is generally given using the geodetic normal or the gravity direction. The astronomical longitude can differ slightly from the ordinary longitude because of vertical deflection, small variations in Earth's gravitational field (see astronomical latitude).

Webster Dictionary

  1. Longitudenoun

    length; measure or distance along the longest line; -- distinguished from breadth or thickness; as, the longitude of a room; rare now, except in a humorous sense

  2. Longitudenoun

    the arc or portion of the equator intersected between the meridian of a given place and the meridian of some other place from which longitude is reckoned, as from Greenwich, England, or sometimes from the capital of a country, as from Washington or Paris. The longitude of a place is expressed either in degrees or in time; as, that of New York is 74¡ or 4 h. 56 min. west of Greenwich.

  3. Longitudenoun

    the distance in degrees, reckoned from the vernal equinox, on the ecliptic, to a circle at right angles to the ecliptic passing through the heavenly body whose longitude is designated; as, the longitude of Capella is 79¡.

  4. Etymology: [F., fr. L. longitudo, fr. longus long.]

Wikidata

  1. Longitude

    Longitude, is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east-west position of a point on the Earth's surface. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees and denoted by the Greek letter lambda. Points with the same longitude lie in lines running from the North Pole to the South Pole. By convention, one of these, the Prime Meridian, which passes through the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, England, establishes the position of zero degrees longitude. The longitude of other places is measured as an angle east or west from the Prime Meridian, ranging from 0° at the Prime Meridian to +180° eastward and −180° westward. Specifically, it is the angle between a plane containing the Prime Meridian and a plane containing the North Pole, South Pole and the location in question. This forms a right-handed coordinate system with the z axis pointing from the Earth's center toward the North Pole and the x axis extending from Earth's center through the equator at the Prime Meridian. A location's north-south position along a meridian is given by its latitude, which is the angle between the local vertical and the plane of the Equator.

Dictionary of Nautical Terms

  1. longitude

    Is an arc of the equator, or any parallel of latitude, contained between the meridian of a place and that of Greenwich, or any other first meridian. These arcs being similar, are expressed by the same number of degrees and miles, though the absolute distance on the earth's surface decreases as the latitude increases, for which see DEPARTURE. East longitude extends 180 degrees to the right, when looking north, and west longitude as many to the left of the first meridian.

Suggested Resources

  1. Longitude

    Longitude vs. Latitude -- In this Grammar.com article you will learn the differences between the words Longitude and Latitude.

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Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of longitude in Chaldean Numerology is: 2

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of longitude in Pythagorean Numerology is: 8

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"longitude." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 11 May 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/longitude>.

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