Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1300-1400
Language: Latin
Origin: latitudo, from latus 'wide'

latitude

 noun
     
Related topics: Geography, Measurement
lat‧i‧tude
1 [uncountable and countable]TMSG the distance north or south of the equator (=the imaginary line around the middle of the world), measured in degrees [↪ longitude]
2

latitudes

[plural]SG an area at a particular latitude:
The birds breed in northern latitudes.
the oceans of the lower latitude
3 [uncountable] formal freedom to choose what you do or say
considerable/greater latitude (=a lot of freedom to choose)
Pupils enjoy considerable latitude in deciding what they want to study.
latitude in/for
Employees should have some latitude in organizing their work.
—latitudinal adjective
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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