longitudinal

English

Etymology

From Middle English longitudinal, from Latin longitūdin-, oblique stem of longitūdō (“length, longitude”). By surface analysis, longitude +‎ -in- +‎ -al.

Pronunciation

• (UK)
  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌlɒŋ.ɡɪˈtjuː.dɪ.nəl/
  • (Standard Southern British) IPA^(key): /ˌlɔŋ.ɡɪˈtʃʉw.dɪ.nəl/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˌlɔn.dʒɪˈtu.dɪ.nəl/, (weak vowel merger) /ˌlɔn.dʒəˈtu.də.nəl/
  • (cot–caught merger) IPA^(key): /ˌlɑn.dʒɪˈtu.dɪ.nəl/, (weak vowel merger) /ˌlɑn.dʒəˈtu.də.nəl/
• (Canada) IPA^(key): /ˌlɒŋ.dʒəˈtu.də.nəl/
• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˌlɔŋ.ɡəˈtʃʉː.də.nəl/
• (New Zealand) IPA^(key): /ˌlɒŋ.ɡəˈtʃʉː.də.nəl/, [ˌlɔ̟ŋɡəˈtʃʉːdənəl]

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Adjective

longitudinal (not comparable)

1. Running across a set direction of an object.

   Synonym: lengthwise

   Coordinate term: transverse

   The motion about the longitudinal axis of an airplane is called roll.

   1. (anatomy) Running in the direction of the long axis of a body.

      Synonyms: craniocaudal, cephalocaudal, rostrocaudal

      • 1960 November, “New electric multiple-units for British Railways: Glasgow Suburban”, in Trains Illustrated, page 660:

        The units have transverse seats, two and three astride the passageway with single or double longitudinal seats alongside the two entrance vestibules in each car.

      • 2008, Youlian Hong, Roger Bartlett, editors, Routledge Handbook of Biomechanics and Human Movement Science, Routledge, →ISBN, page 165:

        The third rotation is about the longitudinal axis of the thigh.

      • 2023 February 22, Paul Stephen, “TfL reveals first of new B23s for Docklands Light Railway”, in RAIL, number 977, page 12:

        Unlike the older trains, the new units have walk-through carriages and longitudinal rather than transverse seating.

2. Relating to the geographical longitude.

   Coordinate term: latitudinal

   The longitudinal position of a ship refers to its angular distance east or west from the prime meridian.

3. (sciences) Of a study, sampling data over time rather than merely once.

   Coordinate term: cross-sectional

   longitudinal studies

   • 2010 March 1, Don Peck, “How a New Jobless Era Will Transform America”, in The Atlantic‎^[1]:

     Examining national longitudinal data, Mossakowski has found that people who were unemployed for long periods in their teens or early 20s are far more likely to develop a habit of heavy drinking (five or more drinks in one sitting) by the time they approach middle age.

Derived terms

• dorsolongitudinal
• heliolongitudinal
• longitudinal aberration
• longitudinal fissure
• longitudinally
• longitudinal recording
• longitudinal relaxation time
• longitudinal system
• longitudinal wave
• medial longitudinal fasciculus
• nonlongitudinal
• palaeolongitudinal
• paleolongitudinal
• pseudolongitudinal

Translations

relating to length

• Finnish: pitkittäinen (fi), pituussuuntainen, pituus- (fi)
• French: longitudinal (fr)
• German: längenmäßig, longitudinal (de)
• Japanese: 経度の (ja) (keido no), 進行方向の (shinkōhōkō no)
• Polish: podłużny (pl), długościowy
• Romanian: longitudinal (ro)
• Russian: долго́тный (ru) m (dolgótnyj), продо́льный (ru) m (prodólʹnyj)
• Spanish: longitudinal (es)
• Welsh: hydredol (cy)

relating to longitude

• Finnish: longitudinaalinen (fi)

running in the direction of the long axis of a body

• Bulgarian: надлъжен (nadlǎžen)
• Czech: podélný
• Dutch: overlangs (nl)
• Finnish: pitkittäinen (fi), pituussuuntainen
• German: längslaufend
• Hungarian: hosszanti (hu), hosszirányú (hu)
• Japanese: 縦の (ja) (tate no)
• Russian: осево́й (ru) m (osevój)
• Welsh: hydredol (cy)

sampling data over time

• Finnish: pitkittäinen (fi)
• German: Längsschnitt (de) m
• Hungarian: longitudinális (hu), hosszmetszeti
• Irish: comhréireach
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: дугорочни

  Latin: dugoročni (sh)

• Spanish: longitudinal (es)

Noun

longitudinal (plural longitudinals)

1. Any longitudinal piece, as in shipbuilding etc.
2. (rail transport) A railway sleeper lying parallel with the rail.

Translations

any piece lying longitudinally

• Finnish: pitkittäinen + noun, pitkittäis- (fi) + noun
• Māori: tari

type of railway sleeper

• Finnish: pitkittäispölkky

Further reading

• “longitudinal”, in Cambridge English Dictionary, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, 1999–present.
• “longitudinal”, in Collins English Dictionary, 2011–present.
• “longitudinal”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
• “longitudinal”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “longitudinal”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• “longitudinal, adj.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.

French

Etymology

From Latin longitūdō, longitūdinis (whence longitude) + -al.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lɔ̃.ʒi.ty.di.nal/

• Audio (France (Lyon)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Vosges)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Somain)):

  (file)

Adjective

longitudinal (feminine longitudinale, masculine plural longitudinaux, feminine plural longitudinales)

1. longitudinal (relating to length; running in the direction of the long axis of a body)
2. longitudinal (relating to longitude)

   Coordinate term: latitudinal

3. longitudinal (sampling data over time rather than merely once)

   Coordinate term: transversal

Derived terms

• longitudinalement

Further reading

• “longitudinal”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

Portuguese

Etymology

By surface analysis, longitude +‎ -in- +‎ -al.

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /lõ.ʒi.tu.d͡ʒiˈnaw/ [lõ.ʒi.tu.d͡ʒiˈnaʊ̯]

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /lõ.ʒi.tu.diˈnal/ [lõ.ʒi.tu.ðiˈnaɫ]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /lõ.ʒi.tu.diˈnal/ [lõ.ʒi.tu.ðiˈnaɫ]
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /lõ.ʒi.tu.diˈna.li/ [lõ.ʒi.tu.ðiˈna.li]

• Hyphenation: lon‧gi‧tu‧di‧nal

Adjective

longitudinal m or f (plural longitudinais)

1. longitudinal (relating to length or longitude)

   Synonym: latitudinal

Derived terms

• longitudinalmente

Noun

longitudinal m (plural longitudinais)

1. (engineering) synonym of longarina

Further reading

• “longitudinal”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “longitudinal”, in Dicionário infopédia da Lingua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2026
• “longitudinal”, in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos, 2015–2026, →ISBN
• “longitudinal”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French longitudinal.

Adjective

longitudinal m or n (feminine singular longitudinală, masculine plural longitudinali, feminine/neuter plural longitudinale)

1. longitudinal

Declension

Declension of longitudinal

		singular				plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine		masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative- accusative	indefinite	longitudinal		longitudinală		longitudinali	longitudinale
	definite	longitudinalul		longitudinala		longitudinalii	longitudinalele
genitive- dative	indefinite	longitudinal		longitudinale		longitudinali	longitudinale
	definite	longitudinalului		longitudinalei		longitudinalilor	longitudinalelor

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lonxitudiˈnal/ [lõŋ.xi.t̪u.ð̞iˈnal]
• Rhymes: -al
• Syllabification: lon‧gi‧tu‧di‧nal

Adjective

longitudinal m or f (masculine and feminine plural longitudinales)

1. longitudinal (relating to length or longitude)
2. longitudinal (sampling data over time)
   • 2001, “Psicología infantil”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name), Grupo Planeta, →ISBN, page 80:

     El número de años que requiere un estudio longitudinal puede variar considerablemente.

     The number of years required by a longitudinal study may vary considerably.

Derived terms

• longitudinalemente

Related terms

• longitude

Further reading

• “longitudinal”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025