38th parallel

or 38th Parallel

[ thur-tee-eytth par-uh-lel, par-uh-luhl, thur-tee-eyth ]

noun

1. the line of latitude 38 degrees North (38° N), in East Asia, which roughly marks the border between North Korea and South Korea: set by the U.S. in 1945 as a military boundary, three years before these countries were officially established.

Word History and Origins

Origin of 38th parallel¹

First recorded in 1945–50