Emily Dickinson Lexicon

LAT'I-TUDE, n. [Fr. from L. latitudo, breadth; latus, broad; W. llyd, breadth.]

1. Breadth; width; extent from side to side. – Wotton.
2. Room; space. – Locke. [In the foregoing senses, little used.]
3. In astronomy, the distance of a star north or south of the ecliptic.
4. In geography, the distance of any place on the globe, north or south of the equator. Boston is situated in the forty-third degree of north latitude.
5. Extent of meaning or construction; indefinite acceptation. The words will not bear this latitude of construction.
6. Extent of deviation from a settled point; freedom from rules or limits; laxity. In human actions, there are no degrees and precise natural limits described, but a latitude is indulged. – Taylor.
7. Extent. I pretend not to treat of them in their full latitude. – Locke.