altus

Latin · adjective
Edited by: Kierán Meinhardt
Last edited: 2026-10-14

Meanings
Literal translation
high
Categories
spatial
Related Lemmata 1 ›

1. high

1.a high spatial

incipit autem ab exortu matutino latitudinem scandere, altitudinem vero subire ac solem insequi a statione matutina, ocissima in occasu matutino et altissima, degredi autem latitudine motumque minuere ab exortu vespertino, retro quidem ire simulque altitudine degredi a statione vespertina;

‘But she begins to climb her latitude after her morning rise, but after her morning station to ascend her altitude and follow the sun, being swiftest and highest at her morning setting; whereas she begins to descend in latitude and decelerate after her evening rising, and to turn back and simultaneously to descend in altitude after her evening station;’

— Pliny, Natural History 2.75

Genre: encyclopedia Provenance: Rome Date: 77-79 CE

Pliny. Natural History, Volume I: Books 1-2. Translated by H. Rackham. Loeb Classical Library 330. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1938.


Cite this entry
APA (7th)
Meinhardt, K. (2026). altus (Lemma #6038). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/6038/

Chicago (Author-Date)
Meinhardt, K. (2026). altus (Lemma #6038). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/6038/

MLA (9th)
Meinhardt, K. (2026). altus (Lemma #6038). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/6038/

Harvard
Meinhardt, K. (2026) altus (Lemma #6038), The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. Available at: https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/6038/ (Accessed: November 5, 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{zodiac6038,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2026-11-05]},
	author = {Meinhardt, Kierán},
	year = {2026},
	title = {altus ({Lemma} #6038)},
	url = {https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/6038/},
	howpublished = {https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/6038/},
}