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American Dictionary of the English Language

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Longitude


LON'GITUDE, noun [Latin longitudo, from longus, long.]

1. Properly length; as the longitude of a room; but in this sense not now used. Appropriately, in geography,

2. The distance of any place on the globe from another place, eastward or westward; or the distance of any place from a given meridian. Boston, in Massachusetts, is situated in the 71st degree of longitude west from Greenwich. To be able to ascertain precisely the longitude of a ship at sea, is a great desideratum in navigation.

3. The longitude of a star, is its distance from the equinoctial points, or the beginning of Aries or Libra.