Definition of the word longitudinal

The word "longitudinal" comes from the Latin words "longitudo," meaning length or longness, and "alis," meaning belonging to or related to. In the 15th century, the term "longitudinal" was first used in the field of science to describe the measurement of the length or distance of an object from a fixed point, often in relation to its width or breadth. In the 17th century, cartographers began using the term to describe lines of latitude on a map, which divide the Earth into parallel bands of latitude. Today, the term has expanded to be used in various fields, including medicine, psychology, and engineering, to describe anything that is measured or described along a straight line in the direction from one end to the other.