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altitude

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

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English

English Wikipedia has an article on:
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Etymology

From Middle English, borrowed from Latin altitūdō (“height”), from altus (“high”).

Pronunciation

Noun

altitude (countable and uncountable, plural altitudes)

  1. The absolute height of a location, usually measured from sea level.
    As the altitude increases, the temperature gets lower, so remember to bring warm clothes to the mountains.
    • 2013 June 7, David Simpson, “Fantasy of navigation”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 26, page 36:
      Like most human activities, ballooning has sponsored heroes and hucksters and a good deal in between. For every dedicated scientist patiently recording atmospheric pressure and wind speed while shivering at high altitudes, there is a carnival barker with a bevy of pretty girls willing to dangle from a basket or parachute down to earth.
    • 2018 November 23, Matthew Robinson, “Dimming the sun: The answer to global warming?”, in CNN‎:
      The technique would involve spraying large amounts of sulfate particles into the Earth’s lower stratosphere at altitudes as high as 12 miles. The scientists propose delivering the sulfates with specially designed high-altitude aircraft, balloons or large naval-style guns.
    • 2020 February 16, Francesca Street, “How changing aircraft altitude could cut flight’s climate impact”, in CNN‎:
      By changing the flying altitude by just couple of thousand feet on fewer than 2% of all scheduled flights, a study by a team of scientists at Imperial College London concludes that the damage to the climate caused by one consequence of aviation could be reduced by as much as 59%.
  2. A vertical distance.
  3. (geometry) The distance measured perpendicularly from a figure's vertex to the opposite side of the vertex.
    The perpendicular height of a triangle is known as its altitude.
  4. (astronomy) The angular distance of a heavenly body above our Earth's horizon.
  5. Height of rank or excellence; superiority.
    • 1704, [Jonathan Swift], A Tale of a Tub. […], London: […] John Nutt, […], →OCLC:
      Whoever has an ambition to be heard in a crowd, must press, and squeeze, and thrust, and climb, with indefatigable pains, till he has exalted himself to a certain degree of altitude above them.
  6. (dated, in the plural) Elevation of spirits; heroics; haughty airs.
  7. Highest point or degree.
  8. (commutative algebra, dated, of a ring) Krull dimension.
  9. (commutative algebra, of an ideal) Height.

Derived terms

Translations

distance measured angularly of a heavenly body
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

Further reading

Anagrams

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French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin altitūdō.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /al.ti.tyd/
  • Audio:(file)
  • Audio (France (Toulouse)):(file)
  • Audio (France (Vosges)):(file)

Noun

altitude f (plural altitudes)

  1. altitude

Further reading

Galician

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin altitūdō.

Noun

altitude f (plural altitudes)

  1. altitude

Portuguese

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin altitūdō.

Pronunciation

 

  • Rhymes: (Brazil) -ud͡ʒi, (Portugal) -udɨ
  • Hyphenation: al‧ti‧tu‧de

Noun

altitude f (plural altitudes)

  1. altitude

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