altitude

English

Etymology

From Middle English, borrowed from Latin altitūdō (“height”), from altus (“high”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈælt.ɪˌtjuːd/, /ˈælt.ɪˌt͡ʃuːd/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈælt.ɪˌtuːd/

Noun

altitude (countable and uncountable, plural altitudes)

1. The absolute height of a location, usually measured from sea level.

   As the altitude increases, the temperature gets lower, so remember to bring warm clothes to the mountains.

   • 2013 June 7, David Simpson, “Fantasy of navigation”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 26, page 36:

     Like most human activities, ballooning has sponsored heroes and hucksters and a good deal in between. For every dedicated scientist patiently recording atmospheric pressure and wind speed while shivering at high altitudes, there is a carnival barker with a bevy of pretty girls willing to dangle from a basket or parachute down to earth.

2. A vertical distance.
3. (geometry) The distance measured perpendicularly from a figure's vertex to the opposite side of the vertex.

   The perpendicular height of a triangle is known as its altitude.

4. (astronomy) The angular distance of a heavenly body above our Earth's horizon.
5. Height of rank or excellence; superiority.
   • 1704, [Jonathan Swift], A Tale of a Tub. […], London: […] John Nutt, […], →OCLC:

     Whoever has an ambition to be heard in a crowd, must press, and squeeze, and thrust, and climb, with indefatigable pains, till he has exalted himself to a certain degree of altitude above them.

6. (dated, in the plural) Elevation of spirits; heroics; haughty airs.
   • 1815 February 24, [Walter Scott], Guy Mannering; or, The Astrologer. […], volumes (please specify |volume=I to III), Edinburgh: […] James Ballantyne and Co. for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, […]; and Archibald Constable and Co., […], →OCLC:

     The man of law began to get into his altitudes.

   • 1748, [Samuel Richardson], Clarissa. Or, The History of a Young Lady: […], volumes (please specify |volume=I to VII), London: […] S[amuel] Richardson;  […], →OCLC:

     Is this deified passion , in its greatest altitudes , fitted to stand the day ?

7. Highest point or degree.
   • c. 1608–1609 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Coriolanus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i]:

     He is [proud] even to the altitude of his virtue.

8. (commutative algebra, dated, of a ring) Krull dimension.
9. (commutative algebra, of an ideal) Height.

Derived terms

• absolute altitude
• altazimuth
• altimetry
• altitude sickness
• altitudinous
• at altitude
• bialtitude
• coaltitude
• critical altitude
• high-altitude
• low-altitude
• maltitude
• medium-altitude
• midaltitude
• minimum descent altitude
• minimum sector altitude
• pressure altitude
• transition altitude

 

Translations

absolute height

• Azerbaijani: yüksəklik
• Bulgarian: надмо́рска височина́ f (nadmórska visočiná)
• Catalan: altitud (ca) f, alçada (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 海拔 (zh) (hǎibá), 高度 (zh) (gāodù)

• Czech: nadmořská výška (cs) f
• Dutch: hoogte (nl) f
• Esperanto: alteco, alto (eo)
• Finnish: korkeus (fi)
• French: altitude (fr) f
• German: Höhe (de) f
• Greek: υψόμετρο (el) n (ypsómetro)
• Hebrew: רום (he) m (rom / rum)
• Hungarian: magasság (hu)
• Irish: airde f
• Italian: altitudine (it) f
• Japanese: 海抜 (ja) (kaibatsu), 高度 (ja) (kōdo)
• Mongolian: өндөр (mn) (öndör)
• Ottoman Turkish: یوكسكلك (yükseklik)
• Persian: فرازا (fa) (farâzâ)
• Polish: wysokość bezwzględna f
• Portuguese: altitude (pt) f
• Romanian: altitudine (ro) f, înălțime (ro) f
• Russian: высота́ (ru) f (vysotá), высота́ над у́ровнем мо́ря f (vysotá nad úrovnem mórja), альтиту́да (ru) f (alʹtitúda)
• Spanish: altitud (es) pl
• Swahili: kimo (sw)
• Swedish: altitud (sv) c, höjd (sv) c
• Tagalog: tayog, layog
• Turkish: irtifa (tr), yükseklik (tr)
• Venetian: altézsa f

distance measured upwards

• Azerbaijani: yüksəklik
• Bulgarian: височина́ (bg) f (visočiná)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 高度 (zh) (gāodù)

• Czech: výška (cs) f
• Dutch: hoogte (nl) f
• Esperanto: alteco, alto (eo)
• Finnish: korkeus (fi)
• French: altitude (fr) f
• German: Höhe (de) f
• Greek: ύψος (el) n (ýpsos)
• Hungarian: magasság (hu)
• Irish: airde f
• Italian: altezza (it) f
• Japanese: 高さ (ja) (takasa), 高度 (ja) (kōdo)
• Mongolian: өндөр (mn) (öndör)
• Ottoman Turkish: یوكسكلك (yükseklik)
• Persian: فرازا (fa) (farâzâ), بلندا (fa) (bolandâ)
• Portuguese: altitude (pt) f
• Romanian: înălțime (ro)
• Russian: высота́ (ru) f (vysotá), возвы́шенность (ru) f (vozvýšennostʹ) (elevation)
• Spanish: altura (es) f
• Swedish: höjd (sv) c, altitud (sv) c
• Tagalog: tayog
• Turkish: irtifa (tr), yükseklik (tr)
• Venetian: altézsa f

distance measured perpendicularly from a figure's vertex to the opposite side of the vertex

• Azerbaijani: yüksəklik
• Bulgarian: височина́ (bg) f (visočiná)
• Czech: výška (cs) f
• Danish: højde (da) c
• Dutch: hoogte (nl) f
• Esperanto: alteco
• Finnish: korkeus (fi)
• French: hauteur (fr) f
• German: Höhe (de) f
• Greek: ύψος (el) n (ýpsos)
• Hungarian: magasság (hu)
• Irish: airde f
• Italian: altezza (it) f
• Mongolian: өндөр (mn) (öndör)
• Ottoman Turkish: یوكسكلك (yükseklik)
• Portuguese: altitude (pt) f
• Romanian: înălțime (ro) f
• Russian: высота́ (ru) f (vysotá)
• Swedish: höjd (sv) c
• Tagalog: tayog
• Turkish: irtifa (tr), yükseklik (tr)
• Venetian: altézsa f

distance measured angularly of a heavenly body

• Dutch: hoogte (nl) f
• Esperanto: alteco
• Finnish: korkeus (fi), korkeuskulma
• French: altitude (fr) f
• Hungarian: magasság (hu)
• Irish: airde f
• Italian: altezza (it) f
• Ottoman Turkish: یوكسكلك (yükseklik)
• Portuguese: altitude (pt) f
• Russian: у́гол возвыше́ния m (úgol vozvyšénija)
• Venetian: altézsa f

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Central Kurdish: ^{(please verify)} بەرزی (ckb) (berzî)
• Interlingua: ^{(please verify)} altitude
• Korean: ^{(please verify)} 고도 (ko) (godo)
• Mandarin: ^{(please verify)} 海拔 (zh) (hǎibá)

Further reading

• “altitude”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “altitude”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• latitude

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin altitūdō.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /al.ti.tyd/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

altitude f (plural altitudes)

1. altitude

Related terms

• haut

Further reading

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

Galician

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin altitūdō.

Noun

altitude f (plural altitudes)

1. altitude

Related terms

• alto
• altura

 

Portuguese

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin altitūdō.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /aw.t͡ʃiˈtu.d͡ʒi/ [aʊ̯.t͡ʃiˈtu.d͡ʒi]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /aw.t͡ʃiˈtu.d͡ʒi/ [aʊ̯.t͡ʃiˈtu.d͡ʒi]
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /aw.t͡ʃiˈtu.de/ [aʊ̯.t͡ʃiˈtu.de]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /al.tiˈtu.dɨ/ [aɫ.tiˈtu.ðɨ]

• Rhymes: (Brazil) -ud͡ʒi, (Portugal) -udɨ
• Hyphenation: al‧ti‧tu‧de

Noun

altitude f (plural altitudes)

1. altitude

Related terms

• alteza
• alto
• altura