Word of the Day
21 September 2026
departure
nounSurveying
The difference in easting between the two ends of a line or curve.
Why this one
Survey notation reduced to two words per axis. Its partner is latitude, the difference in northing along the same line.
In use
Latitude checks out but the departure on course three is off by a tenth, so somebody fat fingered the bearing.
Written by our editors to show how the term is used, not a recorded quotation.Sources
- Definition sourceWiktionary
- Supporting sourceTraverse computationsOpen Access Surveying Library