纬度 (wěi dù) — latitude | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Latitude measures how far north or south a place is on the Earth's surface (paired with 经度 'longitude' to fix a location). Not the same as 宽度, which is the width of an object.

noun

latitude

Examples

纬度。
Dì qiú de wěi dù cóng chì dào xiàng liǎng jí zhú jiàn zēng dà.
The Earth's latitude gradually increases from the equator toward the poles.
。
Zhè ge chéng shì wèi yú běi wěi dù sì shí dù fù jìn.
This city is located near 40 degrees north latitude.
纬度。
Bù tóng wěi dù de rì zhào shí jiān chā bié hěn dà.
The amount of daylight varies greatly at different latitudes.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

纬wěilatitude

度dùdegree

纬 denotes latitude and 度 denotes degree, together naming the angular measure.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 緯; 纬 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

糸糸mìthread

Sound part声符shēngfú

韋

韋wéi緯wěi

Same sound today

The traditional form 緯 has 糸, thread, on the left and 韋 on the right for the sound. The simplified 纬 is a later shorthand.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

又又yòuhand

Sound part声符shēngfú

石

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

度 has 又 (hand) and a changed form of 石; 石 gives a related sound, and the hand is tied to using the hand as a reference for measurement.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Geography & Landforms

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