tropic - Definitions from Dictionary.com

11 results for: tropic

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

trop·ic

Audio Help [trop-ik] Pronunciation Key

–noun

Geography.

a.	either of two corresponding parallels of latitude on the terrestrial globe, one (tropic of Cancer) about 23¹/₂ ° N, and the other (tropic of Capricorn) about 23¹/₂ ° S of the equator, being the boundaries of the Torrid Zone.

b.	the tropics, the regions lying between and near these parallels of latitude; the Torrid Zone and neighboring regions.

2.	Astronomy. either of two circles on the celestial sphere, one lying in the same plane as the tropic of Cancer, the other in the same plane as the tropic of Capricorn.

–adjective

3.	of, pertaining to, characteristic of, or occurring in the tropics; tropical: romance under the tropic skies of Old Mexico.

[Origin: 1350–1400; ME < L tropicus < Gk tropikós pertaining to a turn, equiv. to tróp(os) turn + -ikos -ic

]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
tropic

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

trop·ic Audio Help (trŏp'ĭk) Pronunciation Key

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n.

1. Either of two parallels of latitude on the earth, one 23°27' north of the equator and the other 23°27' south of the equator, representing the points farthest north and south at which the sun can shine directly overhead and constituting the boundaries of the Torrid Zone.
2. Tropics or tropics The region of the earth's surface lying between these latitudes.
Astronomy Either of two corresponding parallels of celestial latitude that are the limits of the apparent northern and southern passages of the sun.

adj. Of or relating to the Tropics; tropical.

[Middle English tropik, from Old French tropique, from Late Latin tropicus, from Latin, of a turn, from Greek tropikos, from tropē, a turning; see trep- in Indo-European roots.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

tro·pism Audio Help (trō'pĭz'əm) Pronunciation Key
n. The turning or bending movement of an organism or a part toward or away from an external stimulus, such as light, heat, or gravity.

[From -tropism.]

tro'pic, tro·pis'tic adj., tro·pis'ti·cal·ly adv.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
tropic

c.1391, "either of the two circles in the celestial sphere which describe the northernmost and southernmost points of the ecliptic," from L.L. tropicus "of or pertaining to the solstice" (as a noun, "one of the tropics"), from L. tropicus "pertaining to a turn," from Gk. tropikos "of or pertaining to a turn or change, or to the solstice" (as a noun, "the solstice"), from trope "a turning" (see trope). The notion is of the point at which the sun "turns back" after reaching its northernmost or southernmost point in the sky. Extended 1527 to the corresponding latitudes on the earth's surface (23 degrees 28 minutes north and south); meaning "region between these parallels" is from 1837. Tropical "hot and lush like the climate of the tropics" is first attested 1834.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

tropic
adjective
1.	relating to or situated in or characteristic of the tropics (the region on either side of the equator); "tropical islands"; "tropical fruit" [syn: tropical]
2.	of weather or climate; hot and humid as in the tropics; "tropical weather" [syn: tropical]
noun
1.	either of two parallels of latitude about 23.5 degrees to the north and south of the equator representing the points farthest north and south at which the sun can shine directly overhead and constituting the boundaries of the Torrid Zone or tropics

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
tropic [ˈtropik] noun

either of two imaginary circles running round the earth at about 23 degrees north (Tropic of Cancer) or south (Tropic of Capricorn) of the equator

Arabic:	مَدار، مِنْطَقَه واقِعَه بين المَدارَيْن
Chinese (Simplified):	回归线
Chinese (Traditional):	回歸線
Czech:	obratník (Raka, Kozoroha)
Danish:	vendekreds
Dutch:	keerkring
Estonian:	pöörijoon
Finnish:	kääntöpiiri
French:	tropique (du cancer, *du capricorne)
German:	der Wendekreis
Greek:	(ο) Τροπικός
Hungarian:	térítő
Icelandic:	hvarfbaugur
Indonesian:	tropik
Italian:	tropic

Japanese:	回帰線
Korean:	회귀선
Latvian:	trops
Lithuanian:	atogrąža
Norwegian:	vendekrets
Polish:	zwrotnik
Portuguese (Brazil):	trópico
Portuguese (Portugal):	trópico
Romanian:	tropic
Russian:	тропик Рака; тропик Козерога
Slovak:	obratník (Raka, Kozorožca)
Slovenian:	povratnik
Spanish:	trópico
Swedish:	vändkrets
Turkish:	(Yengeç, Oğlak v.b.) dönence

See also: tropical, tropics, "tropic" in any language

The American Heritage Science Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

tropic Audio Help (trŏp'ĭk) Pronunciation Key

Either of the two parallels of latitude representing the points farthest north and south at which the Sun can shine directly overhead. The northern tropic is the Tropic of Cancer and the southern one is the Tropic of Capricorn.
tropics. The region of the Earth lying between these latitudes. The tropics are generally the warmest and most humid region of the Earth. Also called Torrid Zone.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

U.S. Gazetteer - Cite This Source - Share This

Tropic, UT (town, FIPS 77560) Location: 37.62464 N, 112.08770 W
Population (1990): 374 (147 housing units)
Area: 1.3 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)

U.S. Gazetteer, U.S. Census Bureau

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Tropic

Can"cer\, n. [L. cancer, cancri, crab, ulcer, a sign of the zodiac; akin to Gr. karki`nos, Skr. karka[.t]a crab, and prob. Skr. karkara hard, the crab being named from its hard shell. Cf. Canner, Chancre.]

1. (Zo["o]l.) A genus of decapod Crustacea, including some of the most common shore crabs of Europe and North America, as the rock crab, Jonah crab, etc. See Crab.

2. (Astron.) (a) The fourth of the twelve signs of the zodiac. The first point is the northern limit of the sun's course in summer; hence, the sign of the summer solstice. See Tropic. (b) A northern constellation between Gemini and Leo.

3. (Med.) Formerly, any malignant growth, esp. one attended with great pain and ulceration, with cachexia and progressive emaciation. It was so called, perhaps, from the great veins which surround it, compared by the ancients to the claws of a crab. The term is now restricted to such a growth made up of aggregations of epithelial cells, either without support or embedded in the meshes of a trabecular framework.

Note: Four kinds of cancers are recognized: (1) Epithelial cancer, or Epithelioma, in which there is no trabecular framework. See Epithelioma. (2) Scirrhous cancer, or Hard cancer, in which the framework predominates, and the tumor is of hard consistence and slow growth. (3) Encephaloid, Medullary, or Soft cancer, in which the cellular element predominates, and the tumor is soft, grows rapidy, and often ulcerates. (4) Colloid cancer, in which the cancerous structure becomes gelatinous. The last three varieties are also called carcinoma.

Cancer cells, cells once believed to be peculiar to cancers, but now know to be epithelial cells differing in no respect from those found elsewhere in the body, and distinguished only by peculiarity of location and grouping.

Cancer root (Bot.), the name of several low plants, mostly parasitic on roots, as the beech drops, the squawroot, etc.

Tropic of Cancer. See Tropic.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Tropic

1. (Zo["o]l.) A genus of decapod Crustacea, including some of the most common shore crabs of Europe and North America, as the rock crab, Jonah crab, etc. See Crab.

Cancer root (Bot.), the name of several low plants, mostly parasitic on roots, as the beech drops, the squawroot, etc.

Tropic of Cancer. See Tropic.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Tropic

Cap"ri*corn\, n. [L. capricornus; caper goat + cornu horn: cf. F. capricorne.]

1. (Astron.) The tenth sign of zodiac, into which the sun enters at the winter solstice, about December 21. See Tropic.

The sun was entered into Capricorn. --Dryden.

2. (Astron.) A southern constellation, represented on ancient monuments by the figure of a goat, or a figure with its fore part like a fish.

Capricorn beetle (Zo["o]l.), any beetle of the family Carambucid[ae]; one of the long-horned beetles. The larv[ae] usually bore into the wood or bark of trees and shrubs and are often destructive. See Girdler, Pruner.

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