Distance north or south of the equator (8)
I believe the answer is:
latitude
'distance north or south of the equator' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
This is the entire clue.
(Other definitions for latitude that I've seen before include "Imaginery line around the earth" , "Unrestricted" , "non-existent at the Equator?" , "lines on a map" , "Licence" .)