tropic

tropic
\ \ [14] The etymological notion underlying the word tropic is of ‘turning’, and the reason for its application to the hot regions of the world is that the two lines of latitude which bound them (the tropic of Cancer and the tropic of Capricorn) mark the points at which the sun reaches its zenith at the solstices and then ‘turns’ back. The word comes via Latin tropicus from Greek tropikós, a derivative of tropé ‘turning’ (source also of English trophy and related to the second syllable of contrive).
\ \ Cf.⇒ CONTRIVE, TROPHY, TROUBADOUR

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • Tropic — Trop ic, a. Of or pertaining to the tropics; tropical. [1913 Webster] {Tropic bird} (Zo[ o]l.), any one of three species of oceanic belonging to the genus {Pha[ e]thon}, found chiefly in tropical seas. They are mostly white, and have two central… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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  • Tropic, UT — U.S. town in Utah Population (2000): 508 Housing Units (2000): 206 Land area (2000): 8.380698 sq. miles (21.705908 sq. km) Water area (2000): 0.021682 sq. miles (0.056155 sq. km) Total area (2000): 8.402380 sq. miles (21.762063 sq. km) FIPS code …   StarDict's U.S. Gazetteer Places

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