Etymologically
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tropical

Etymology and origin of the English word tropical

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1527

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈtɹɒp.ɪ.kəl/; /ˈtɹɒp.ɪ.kəl/, /ˈtɹəʊ.pɪ.kəl/ (UK); /ˈtɹɑ.pɪ.kəl/, /ˈtɹɒp.ɪ.kəl/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is formed from tropic and -al.[2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Relating to the celestial tropics: 1527 in the OED, the 1520s in Etymonline.[5][2] MWU dates a sense to the 15th century.[3]

Semantic evolution

Relating to the torrid zone of the earth is from 1698.[5][2] Diseases of tropical regions are from 1828,[5] and clothing for hot climates from 1792.[5] Hot and lush like the climate of the tropics, figuratively ardent or luxuriant, is from 1834.[2][5] SOED also records a mid-16th-century sense, of the nature of a trope, figurative.[4]

Timeline

  • 1527 – of the celestial tropics.[5]
  • 1698 – of the torrid zone.[5][2]
  • 1792 – of clothing for hot climates.[5]
  • 1834 – hot and lush.[2][5]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Of, found in or typical of the tropics.
  2. Very hot and humid.
  3. (astronomy) Relating to either tropic.

Word family

  • tropically
  • tropicality
  • subtropical
  • intertropical
  • neotropical
  • paleotropical
  • pantropical
  • semitropical
  • tropic
  • tropics
  • trope

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
Cite this entry

“Tropical.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/tropical. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·