longitude

Etymology

From Middle English, borrowed from Old French longitude, from Latin longitūdō (“length, a measured length”), from longus (“long”).

noun

1. (geography) Angular distance measured west or east of the prime meridian.
   Coordinate term: latitude
   But was it responsible governance to pass the Longitude Act without other efforts to protect British seamen? Or might it have been subterfuge—a disingenuous attempt to shift attention away from the realities of their life at sea. 2012-03, William E. Carter, Merri Sue Carter, “The British Longitude Act Reconsidered”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 2, page 87
2. (geography, astronomy) Any imaginary line perpendicular to the equator and part of a great circle passing through the North Pole and South Pole.
3. (archaic) Length.
   His shoulders are remarkably sloping, giving an appearance of great longitude to his neck. 1831, Francis Griffin, “Griffin's Remains”, in The American Quarterly Review, volume 10, page 504