means Latitude is the measure of how far north or south a point lies from the equator, given in degrees — and, by extension, the freedom to act or think within generous limits.

from From the Latin latitudo, "breadth" or "width," built on latus, meaning "wide." The geographers' logic is tidy: latitude runs in the wide direction, the horizontal bands wrapping the globe, while longitude (from longus, "long") runs the long way, pole to pole. The looser sense of "breathing room" or "leeway" simply carries the same idea inward — to give someone latitude is to grant them a wide space to move in.