LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · femininethird declension

altitūdō

altitūdō f (genitive altitūdinis)
Classical[aɫ.tɪˈtuː.doː]Ecclesiastical[al.tiˈtuː.do]

Meaning

  1. height (distance from bottom to top)
    Eam [līneam] M. [Mārcus] Varrō ita dēfīnit: "Līnea est," inquit, "longitūdō quaedam sine lātitūdine et altitūdine."Marcus Varro defines it [a line] in this way: "A line is," he says, "a certain length without width and height."c. 177 CE, Aulus Gellius, Noctes Atticae 1.20.8
  2. depth
    Flūminis erat altitūdō pedum circiter trium.The depth of the river was about three feet.c. 52 BCE, Julius Caesar, Commentarii de bello Gallico 2.18
  3. figurativelyspiritual or emotional depth

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

quam altus est; altitūdō mūrī
height, depth
altitūdō -inis (f) — in De Bello Gallico III, ch. 6

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativealtitūdōaltitūdinēs
genitivealtitūdinisaltitūdinum
dativealtitūdinīaltitūdinibus
accusativealtitūdinemaltitūdinēs
ablativealtitūdinealtitūdinibus
vocativealtitūdōaltitūdinēs

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

elatio atque altitudo orationis
the exalted strain of the speech.

altĭtūdo, dĭnis, f. altus,
I. height or depth (cf. alo, p. a. init.).
I. Height, altitude (syn.: altum, cacumen, culmen, vertex, apex).
A. Lit.: altitudinem temperato, Cato, R. R. 22, 23: altitudo aedium, Cic. Off. 3, 16: montium, id. Agr. 2, 19; Vulg. Isa. 37, 24: in hac immensitate altitudinum, Cic. N. D. 1, 20: navis, Caes. B. G. 4, 25: muri, Nep. Them. 6, 5: moenium, Tac. H. 3, 20; so absol.: fore altitudines, quas cepissent hostes (sc. montium), heights, Liv. 27, 18.—
B. Trop., height, loftiness: elatio atque altitudo orationis, Cic. Brut. 17: fortunae et gloriae, id. Rab. Post. 16: animi, greatness of soul, nobleness of mind, id. Fam. 4, 13, 7; so Liv. 4, 6 fin.; Gell. 17, 2 et saep.—
II. Depth (syn.: altum, profundum).
A. Lit.: spelunca infinitā altitudine, Cic. Verr. 2, 4, 48; so id. ib. 2, 5, 27; id. Div. 1, 43: fluminis, Caes. B. G. 4, 17: maris, id. ib. 4, 25: terrae, Vulg. Matt. 13, 5; ib. Marc. 4, 5: plagae, Cels. 7, 7, § 9.—
B. Trop., depth, extent (eccl. Lat.): O altitudo divitiarum sapientiae et scientiae Dei, Vulg. Rom. 11, 33.—Spec., depth of soul, secrecy, reserve, Gr βαθύτης: exercenda est facilitas et altitudo animi, quae dicitur, i. e. a serenity or calmness that conceals the real feelings, Cic. Off. 1, 25, 88.—In mal. part.: ad simulanda negotia altitudo ingenii incredibilis, Sall. J. 95, 3: per illos dies egit altitudine animi, Tac. A. 3, 44; id. H. 4, 86: altitudines Satanae, deep plots, Vulg. Apoc. 2, 24.

Origins

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₂el-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₂eltós
  3. Proto-Italic*altos
  4. Latinaltitūdō

Proto-Indo-European *-tu- Proto-Indo-European *-d- Proto-Indo-European *-Hō Proto-Italic *-tūdō Latin -tūdō Latin altitūdō From altus (“high, lofty”) + -tūdō.

Descendants
  • Catalanaltitud
  • Englishaltitude
  • Frenchaltitude
  • Italianaltitudine
  • Portuguesealtitude
  • Romanianaltitudine
  • Spanishaltitud
  • Esperantoaltitudo

In English words that came into English from altitūdō

  • altitudealtitūdō
  • altitudinalaltitūdō
  • altitudinarianaltitūdō
  • altitudinousaltitūdō

Quick answers

What does altitūdō mean in Latin?
altitūdō, a noun, means “height (distance from bottom to top); depth; spiritual or emotional depth”.
What is the genitive of altitūdō?
The genitive singular is altitūdinis. altitūdō is feminine, third declension.
How do you pronounce altitūdō?
In classical Latin, [aɫ.tɪˈtuː.doː]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [al.tiˈtuː.do].
Where does altitūdō come from?
Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- → Proto-Indo-European *h₂eltós → Proto-Italic *altos → Latin altitūdō.
Which English words come from altitūdō?
English words that go back to Latin altitūdō include altitude, altitudinal, altitudinarian and altitudinous.