tropic
noun/ˈtrɒpɪk/
/ˈtrɑːpɪk/
- [countable, usually singular] one of the two imaginary lines drawn around the world 23° 26′ north (the Tropic of Cancer) or south (the Tropic of Capricorn) of the equatorTopics Geographyc1
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- the tropics[plural] the area between the two tropics, which is the hottest part of the world synonym torrid zone
Word Originlate Middle English (denoting the point on the ecliptic reached by the sun at the solstice): via Latin from Greek tropikos, from tropē ‘turning’, from trepein ‘to turn’.
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