longitudinal

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

• (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):

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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.

longitudinal (plural longitudinals)

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

• “longitudinal”, in Cambridge English Dictionary, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, 1999–present.
• “longitudinal”, in Collins English Dictionary.
• “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.

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

• IPA^(key): /lɔ̃.ʒi.ty.di.nal/

• Audio (France (Lyon)):

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• Audio (France (Vosges)):

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• Audio (France (Somain)):

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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

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

• Hyphenation: lon‧gi‧tu‧di‧nal

longitudinal m or f (plural longitudinais)

1. longitudinal (relating to length or longitude)

longitudinal m (plural longitudinais)

1. (engineering) synonym of longarina

• “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

Borrowed from French longitudinal.

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

1. longitudinal

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

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.

• “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