About
纬 is the simplified form of 緯, a phono-semantic compound composed of the silk radical 纟 (traditional 糸) and the phonetic 韦 (wěi). The silk radical indicates the character's origin in textile weaving: it originally meant the weft, the horizontal thread that is passed back and forth across the vertical warp threads on a loom. This core idea of a horizontal crossing line was later extended to geography and astronomy, where it was applied to the imaginary mapping grids of the Earth and sky. Today, 纬 is used for lines of latitude, the horizontal circles that, together with longitude, form the coordinate system. The meaning thus shifted from a tangible silk thread to an abstract geographical measurement, while preserving the geometric notion of horizontal intersection.
Etymology Hide
Example Sentences Hide
这个城市的纬度很高。
纬线指示东西方向。
地图上标有经纬线。
低纬度地区气候炎热。
纺织时纬纱穿过经纱。
地球的纬度影响季节变化。
文化纬度是研究的重要方面。
通过测量恒星高度，可以确定当地的纬度。
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