latitude

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• noun The angular distance north or south of the earth's equator, measured in degrees along a meridian, as on a map or globe.
• noun A region of the earth considered in relation to its distance from the equator.
• noun Astronomy The angular distance of a celestial body north or south of the ecliptic.
• noun Freedom from normal restraints, limitations, or regulations. synonym: room.
• noun A range of values or conditions, especially the range of exposures over which a photographic film yields usable images.
• noun Archaic Width; breadth.

from The Century Dictionary.

• noun Extent from side to side, or distance sidewise from a given point or line; breadth; width.
• noun Extent within limits of any kind; scope; range; comprehensiveness: as, to be allowed great latitude of motion or action; latitude of meaning or of application.
• noun Hence Extent of deviation from a standard; freedom from rules or limits: as, latitude of conduct.
• noun The elevation of the pole of the heavens at a station, or the angle at which the plane of the horizon is cut by the earth's axis; the total curvature or bending of a meridian between the equator and a station; the angle which the plumb-line at any place makes with the plumb-line at the equator in the same plane; on a map, the angular distance of a point on the earth's surface from the equator, measured on the meridian of the point: as, St. Paul's, London, is in lat. 51° 30' 48″ N.; Cape Horn is in lat. 55° 59' S.
• noun In astronomy, the angular distance of a star north or south of the ecliptic, measured on that secondary to the ecliptic which passes through the body.
• noun The quantity of the interval between two latitudes, either in the geographical or the astronomical sense: as, to sail through 30° of latitude.
• noun A place or region as marked by parallels of latitude: as, to fish in high latitudes (that is, in places where the latitude is a high number); the orange will not ripen in this latitude (that is, it will not do so in any place on the same parallel of latitude as the place spoken of); you are out of your latitude (that is, literally or figuratively, you have committed an error of navigation, so that the latitude you have assigned to the ship's place is not the true one).

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

• noun Extent from side to side, or distance sidewise from a given point or line; breadth; width.
• noun Room; space; freedom from confinement or restraint; hence, looseness; laxity; independence.
• noun Extent or breadth of signification, application, etc.; extent of deviation from a standard, as truth, style, etc.
• noun Extent; size; amplitude; scope.
• noun (Geog.) Distance north or south of the equator, measured on a meridian.
• noun (Astron.) The angular distance of a heavenly body from the ecliptic.
• noun etc. See under Ascending. Circle, etc.
• noun that part of the earth's surface near either pole, esp. that part within either the arctic or the antarctic circle.
• noun that part of the earth's surface which is near the equator.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• noun geography, astronomy The angular distance north or south from a planet's equator, measured along the meridian of that particular point.
• noun geography An imaginary line (in fact a circle) around a planet running parallel to the planet's equator.
• noun The relative freedom from restrictions; scope to do something.
• noun astronomy The angular distance of a heavenly body from the ecliptic.
• noun photography The extent to which a light-sensitive material can be over- or underexposed and still achieve an acceptable result.
• noun Extent or scope; e.g. breadth, width or amplitude.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• noun an imaginary line around the Earth parallel to the equator
• noun scope for freedom of e.g. action or thought; freedom from restriction
• noun the angular distance between an imaginary line around a heavenly body parallel to its equator and the equator itself
• noun freedom from normal restraints in conduct