latitude: [14] Latin lātus meant ‘broad’. From it were derived dīlātāre ‘spread out’ (source of English dilate) and lātitūdō, which English took over as latitude. Its use as a cartographical term stems from the oblong maps of the ancient world, in which distance from north to south represented ‘breadth’ (hence latitude), and distance from east to west represented ‘length’ (hence longitude [16], from Latin longitūdō, a derivative of longus ‘long’). => dilate
latitude (n.)
late 14c., "breadth," from Old French latitude (13c.) and directly from Latin latitudo "breadth, width, extent, size," from latus "wide," from PIE root *stele- "to spread" (cognates: Old Church Slavonic steljo "to spread out," Armenian lain "broad"). Geographical sense also is from late 14c., literally "breadth" of a map of the known world. Figurative sense of "allowable degree of variation" is early 15c. Related: Latitudinal.
雙語例句
1. He would be given every latitude in forming a new government.
他將可以不受任何限製地組建新政府。
來自柯林斯例句
2. The latitude of the island is 20 degrees south.
該島的緯度是南緯20度.
來自《簡明英漢詞典》
3. This city is close to the fortieth parallel of north latitude.
這個城市靠近北緯40度.
來自《簡明英漢詞典》
4. She was given considerable latitude in how she spent the money.