latitude

noun

Etymology: Borrowed into Middle English from Old French latitude, from Latin lātitūdō (“breadth, width, latitude”), from lātus (“broad, wide”), from older stlātus. Possibly related with lateral, though this is uncertain.

1. The angular distance north or south from a planet's equator, measured along the meridian of that particular point.

   “The oat is hardier than wheat, and ripens in higher latitudes.”

   “Far from the center of Shang civilization, Wu-ch'eng is located well south of the Yangtze at approximately the same latitude as Ch'ang-sha in the west and Wen-chou in the east.”

2. An imaginary line (in the form of a circumference) around a planet running parallel to the planet's equator.

   “snow showers in the northerly latitudes”

3. The relative freedom from restrictions; scope to do something.

   “His parents gave him a great deal of latitude.”

   “"Love!" ejaculated the Comtesse; "And so throw away the chances of a life upon a month of honey!—I say a month, which is allowing a latitude tenderness never took...”

4. The angular distance of a heavenly body from the ecliptic.
5. The extent to which a light-sensitive material can be over- or underexposed and still achieve an acceptable result.
6. Extent or scope; e.g. breadth, width or amplitude.