Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Tropic
Trop′ic
,Adj.
[
Atrop
ine + -ic
.] (Chem.)
Of, pertaining to, or designating, an acid obtained from atropine and certain other alkaloids, as a white crystalline substance slightly soluble in water.
Trop′ic
,Noun.
[F.
tropique
, L. tropicus
of or belonging to a turn, i. e., of the sun, Gr. [GREEK] of the solstice, [GREEK] (sc. [GREEK]) the tropic or solstice, fr. [GREEK] to turn. See Trope
.] 1.
(Astron.)
One of the two small circles of the celestial sphere, situated on each side of the equator, at a distance of 23° 28′, and parallel to it, which the sun just reaches at its greatest declination north or south, and from which it turns again toward the equator, the northern circle being called the
Tropic of Cancer
, and the southern the Tropic of Capricorn
, from the names of the two signs at which they touch the ecliptic. 2.
(Geog.)
(a)
One of the two parallels of terrestrial latitude corresponding to the celestial tropics, and called by the same names.
(b)
pl.
The region lying between these parallels of latitude, or near them on either side.
The brilliant flowers of the
tropics
bloom from the windows of the greenhouse and the saloon. Bancroft.
Trop′ic
,Adj.
Of or pertaining to the tropics; tropical.
Tropic bird
(Zool.)
, any one of three species of oceanic belonging to the genus
Phaethon
, found chiefly in tropical seas. They are mostly white, and have two central tail feathers very long and slender. The yellow-billed tropic bird. Phaethon flavirostris
(called also boatswain
), is found on the Atlantic coast of America, and is common at the Bermudas, where it breeds.Webster 1828 Edition
Tropic
TROP'IC
,Noun.
1.
In astronomy, a circle of the sphere drawn through a solstitial point, parallel to the equator; or the line which bounds the sun's declination from the equator, north or south. This declination is twenty-three degrees and a half nearly. There are two tropics; the tropic of Cancer, on the north of the equator, and the tropic of Capricorn on the south.2.
Tropics, in geography, are two lesser circles of the globe, drawn parallel to the equator through the beginning of Cancer and of Capricorn.Definition 2024
Tropic
Tropic
English
Noun
Tropic (plural Tropics)
- Alternative form of tropic (one of two specific lines of latitude that divide the Northern and Southern hemispheres, respectively; the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn).
Translations
one of the two Tropics — see tropic
Anagrams
tropic
tropic
English
Alternative forms
Noun
tropic (plural tropics)
- Either of the two parallels of latitude 23°27′north and south of the equator; the farthest points at which the sun can be directly overhead; the boundaries of the torrid zone or tropics.
Derived terms
Translations
either of the two parallels
Adjective
tropic (comparative more tropic, superlative most tropic)
- Of, or relating to the tropics; tropical.
- (weather, climate) hot and humid.
- (biochemistry) (noncomparative) Having the quality of indirectly inducing a biological or chemical change in a system or substrate.
- The binding of oxygen to hemoglobin is allosterically regulated by various tropic factors, such as BPG and acidity.
Usage notes
In chemical sense, not to be confused with similar-sounding trophic – the words and concepts are unrelated.[1]
Translations
tropical — see tropical
referring hot and humid weather or climate
Derived terms
Related terms
References
- ↑ “Trophic vs. Tropic”, Werner Steinberg, JAMA, May 3, 1952, 149(1), p. 82, doi:10.1001/jama.1952.02930180084027.