parallel of latitude
- noun
- /ˈpɛrəˌlɛl əv ˈlætɪˌtud/
:
paralelo
- To find the 45th parallel of latitude, you can look for it on a standard world map.
Examples
-
The 38th parallel of latitude runs through several major cities in the world.
-
A team of axmen had been cutting a path about twenty-five feet wide for the surveyors, and from the Alleghenies' peaks, Mason could see the curvature of this vista as it followed the parallel of latitude.
Academic text (2006) -
The parallel of latitude at the equator is 0 degrees, serving as the starting point for measuring latitude.
Synonyms
56
3.9
Distance north or south of the equator measured in degrees
16
5.1
An imaginary line around the Earth that runs east to west like the equator
1
3.4
An imaginary circle around the Earth parallel to the equator that shows how far north or south a place is
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is compositionally built from 'parallel' (an imaginary Earth circle) and 'latitude' (angular distance north or south), so a learner who knows both words can infer it denotes a line around the Earth marking a particular latitude. The preposition 'of' is purely relational and this construction is cross-linguistically common, making the meaning immediately accessible to B1 learners.
Etymology
Parallel of latitude comes from the image of a circle that goes around the Earth and stays the same distance from the equator, like a ring on a ball. Each parallel marks a particular 'latitude', so the phrase means an 'imaginary' horizontal line used to show position north or south on maps and globes.