TROPIC • DICCIONARIO INGLES.COM • Definition of Tropic

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/trˈɑpɪk/ Listen

noun

Tropic n.

(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.

(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."

adjective

Tropic adj. (Chem.) Of, pertaining to, or designating, an acid obtained from atropine and certain other alkaloids, as a white crystalline substance slightly soluble in water.

Tropic 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.

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Etymology of 'Tropic'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Tropic" Quotes from Famous Books

... cavern sparkling with its native spars; With eyes that were a language and a spell, A form like Aphrodite's in her shell, With all her loves around her on the deep, Voluptuous as the first approach of sleep; Yet full of life—for through her tropic cheek The blush would make its way, and all but speak: The sun-born blood suffused her neck, and threw O'er her clear nut-brown skin a lucid hue, Like coral reddening through the darken'd wave, Which draws the diver to the crimson cave. Such was this daughter ...

— My Recollections of Lord Byron • Teresa Guiccioli

... happy and comfortable. I might remain in my chamber all winter, and keep it at an even temperature, and exercise by means of the portable gymnasium. I am sure the joy of your presence would be better than any tropic or equator without you. And I hate to be the means of your resigning from ...

— Memories of Hawthorne • Rose Hawthorne Lathrop

... alteration till noon next day; at which time we observed in latitude 23 deg. 18', longitude made from the Isle of Pines 1 deg. 54' E. In the afternoon we had little wind from the south, and a great swell from the same direction: And many boobies, tropic, and men-of-war birds were seen. At eleven o'clock a fresh breeze sprung up at W. by S., with which we stood to the south. At this time we were in the latitude of 23 deg. 18', longitude 169 deg. 49' E., and about forty-two leagues south of ...

— A Voyage Towards the South Pole and Round the World Volume 2 • James Cook

... sad and solitary. While all the others felt that their uttermost desire had been granted in acquiring the Moorish kingdom, he knew that he could present them with a far greater territory than Granada if only they would give him the chance. What were these olive and orange groves beside the tropic fertility of the shores he longed to reach, and which he would have reached long ere this, he told himself regretfully, if only they had helped him! What was the Christianizing of the few Moors who remained in ...

— Christopher Columbus • Mildred Stapley

... days of this kind they reached a smoother channel and could proceed more easily. But their work was still far from easy, for the inflowing tidal waters had left them and they had the swift current of the river to breast, while the tropic heat grew more oppressive day by day. It was hard work for the gentlemen rovers in that tropical climate, where the dense forest growth cut off every breath of air and their diminishing bread forced them to be put on short allowance. They began to complain bitterly, ...

— Historical Tales - The Romance of Reality - Volume III • Charles Morris

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