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longitude
longitude, from the Latin longitudo, length, one of the two spherical coordinates used to describe a terrestrial position, the other being latitude. It is the arc of the equator or the angle at either pole between the planes of the prime meridian (0°) and the meridian of the places measured eastwards or westwards. Before the chronometer the longitude at sea would generally be calculated from lunar distance observations which involved observations of the position of the moon relative to other astronomical bodies. The chronometer, which keeps accurate time, enabled the navigator to establish his longitude from the local time of noon compared to that at Greenwich. The longitude of a place is a function of the time it takes the earth to rotate through the angle between the planes of the prime meridian and the meridian of the place. Longitude and time are thus equivalent, the one expressed in arc, the other in hours, minutes, and seconds. See also board of longitude; greenwich mean time.
Mike Richey |
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"longitude." The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 9 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "longitude." The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (February 9, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O225-longitude.html "longitude." The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. 2006. Retrieved February 09, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O225-longitude.html |
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longitude
longitude , angular distance on the earth's surface measured along any latitude line such as the equator east or west of the prime meridian . A meridian of longitude is an imaginary line on the earth's surface from pole to pole; two opposite meridians form a great circle dividing the earth into two hemispheres. By international agreement, the meridian passing through the original site of the Royal Greenwich Observatory at Greenwich, England, is designated the prime meridian, and all points along it are at 0° longitude. All other points on the earth have longitudes ranging from 0° to 180°E or from 0° to 180°W. Except where it is changed to account for populated areas, the international date line lies along the 180° meridian. Meridians of longitude and parallels of latitude together form a grid by which any position on the earth's surface can be specified. The term longitude is also used in various celestial coordinate systems (see ecliptic coordinate system ). |
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"longitude." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 9 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "longitude." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (February 9, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-longitud.html "longitude." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Retrieved February 09, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-longitud.html |
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longitudinal
lon·gi·tu·di·nal / ˌlänjəˈt(y)oōdn-əl; ˌlôn-; -ˈt(y)oōdnəl/ • adj. 1. running lengthwise rather than across: longitudinal muscles longitudinal stripes longitudinal extent. ∎ (of research or data) involving information about an individual or group gathered over a long period of time. 2. of or relating to longitude; measured from east to west: longitudinal positions. DERIVATIVES: lon·gi·tu·di·nal·ly adv. |
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"longitudinal." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 9 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "longitudinal." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (February 9, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-longitudinal.html "longitudinal." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved February 09, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-longitudinal.html |
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longitude
lon·gi·tude / ˈlänjiˌt(y)oōd; ˈlôn-/ • n. the angular distance of a place east or west of the meridian at Greenwich, England, or west of the standard meridian of a celestial object, usually expressed in degrees and minutes: at a longitude of 2° W | lines of longitude. ∎ Astron. see celestial longitude. |
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Cite this article
"longitude." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 9 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "longitude." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (February 9, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-longitude.html "longitude." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved February 09, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-longitude.html |
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longitude
longitude The angle around some reference plane from an adopted starting-point. In astronomy, the equivalent of longitude on Earth is right ascension. See also celestial longitude; galactic longitude; heliocentric longitude.
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"longitude." A Dictionary of Astronomy. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 9 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "longitude." A Dictionary of Astronomy. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (February 9, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O80-longitude.html "longitude." A Dictionary of Astronomy. 1997. Retrieved February 09, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O80-longitude.html |
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longitude
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"longitude." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 9 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "longitude." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (February 9, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-longitude.html "longitude." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Retrieved February 09, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-longitude.html |
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longitude
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T. F. HOAD. "longitude." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 9 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "longitude." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (February 9, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-longitude.html T. F. HOAD. "longitude." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved February 09, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-longitude.html |
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longitude
longitude •allude, brood, collude, conclude, crude, delude, dude, elude, étude, exclude, extrude, exude, feud, food, illude, include, intrude, Jude, lewd, mood, nude, obtrude, occlude, Oudh, preclude, protrude, prude, pseud, pultrude, rood, rude, seclude, shrewd, snood, transude, unglued, unsubdued, who'd, you'd
•habitude
•magnitude • seafood • wholefood
•Quaalude • postlude • interlude
•Ermintrude • Gertrude • unvalued
•prelude • quietude • hebetude
•longitude • amplitude
•similitude, verisimilitude
•solitude • plenitude • finitude
•decrepitude • turpitude • pulchritude
•crassitude, lassitude
•solicitude, vicissitude
•attitude, beatitude, gratitude, latitude, platitude
•exactitude • sanctitude • aptitude
•rectitude • ineptitude • promptitude
•fortitude • multitude • certitude
•servitude • consuetude
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"longitude." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 9 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "longitude." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (February 9, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-longitude.html "longitude." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved February 09, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-longitude.html |
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longitudinal
longitudinal •annal, channel, flannel, impanel, multichannel, panel
•cracknel
•grapnel, shrapnel
•carnal
•antennal, crenel, fennel, kennel
•regnal
•anal, decanal
•adrenal, officinal, penal, renal, venal
•signal, spignel
•hymnal • cardinal • libidinal • ordinal
•attitudinal, latitudinal, longitudinal
•altitudinal
•imaginal, paginal
•marginal, submarginal
•aboriginal • virginal • disciplinal
•seminal
•criminal, liminal, subliminal
•abdominal, nominal, phenomenal, pronominal
•noumenal
•germinal, terminal
•vaticinal, vicinal
•sentinel • intestinal • Juvenal
•doctrinal, final, semi-final, spinal, urinal, vaginal
•quarterfinal
•cantonal, O'Connell
•cornel • nounal
•atonal, Donal, hormonal, Monel, patronal, polytonal, tonal, zonal
•motional
•lagoonal, monsoonal, tribunal
•communal
•Chunnel, funnel, gunnel, gunwale, runnel, tunnel
•autumnal • meridional
•embryonal, Lionel
•diagonal, heptagonal, hexagonal, octagonal, tetragonal
•trigonal • orthogonal • occasional
•divisional, provisional, visional
•delusional, fusional, illusional
•regional • original • coronal • arsenal
•medicinal
•impersonal, interpersonal, personal, transpersonal
•irrational, national, passional, rational
•factional, fractional, redactional, transactional
•confessional, congressional, expressional, impressional, obsessional, processional, professional, progressional, recessional, secessional, sessional, successional
•connectional, correctional, directional, interjectional, intersectional, sectional, unidirectional
•ascensional, attentional, conventional, declensional, intentional, tensional, three-dimensional, two-dimensional
•conceptional, exceptional, perceptional
•durational, locational, oblational, relational, vocational
•rotational
•additional, positional, tuitional, volitional
•fictional, jurisdictional
•inscriptional • optional • proportional
•devotional, emotional, notional, promotional
•constitutional, evolutional, institutional, substitutional
•constructional, fluxional, instructional
•conjunctional, dysfunctional, functional, multifunctional
•versional • seasonal
•colonel, diurnal, eternal, external, fraternal, infernal, internal, journal, kernel, maternal, nocturnal, paternal, supernal, vernal
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Cite this article
"longitudinal." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 9 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "longitudinal." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (February 9, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-longitudinal.html "longitudinal." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved February 09, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-longitudinal.html |
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