Lŏn'gi-tūde, n.

n. [Fr. longitude, Pr. longitud, Sp. longitud, It. longitudine, Lat. longitudo, from Lat. longus, long.]

1. Length; measure or distance along the longest line;—distinguished from breadth or thickness; as, the longitude of a room. “The longitude of their cloaks.” W. Scott.
2. (Geog.) The arc or portion of the equator intercepted between the meridian of a given place, and the meridian of some other place from which longitude is reckoned, usually from Greenwich, England, but also, sometimes, from the capital of a country, as from Washington or Paris. The longitude of a place is expressed either in degrees or in time; as, that of New York is 74° or 4 h. 56 min. west of Greenwich.
3. (Astron.) The distance in degrees, reckoned from the vernal equinox, on the ecliptic, to a circle at right angles to it passing through the heavenly body whose longitude is designated; as, the longitude of Capella is 79°.

Geocentric longitude (Astron.), the longitude of a heavenly body as reckoned on, or referred to, a circle, of which the center is the same as that of the earth.—Heliocentric longitude, the longitude of a heavenly body as reckoned on or referred to a circle, of which the center coincides with the sun’s center.—Longitude stars, certain stars whose position is known, and the data in regard to which are used in observations for finding the longitude, as by lunar distances.