tropical

English

Alternative forms

• trop. (abbreviation)

Etymology

tropic +‎ -al

Pronunciation

• (all senses except "characterized by tropes"):
  • (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈtɹɒp.ɪ.kəl/

  • Audio (UK)

    (file)

  • Rhymes: -ɒpɪkəl
  • (US) IPA^(key): /ˈtɹɑ.pɪ.kəl/

    • Audio (US)

      (file)

  • Rhymes: -ɑpɪkəl
• ("characterized by tropes"):
  • (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈtɹəʊ.pɪ.kəl/, IPA^(key): /ˈt͡ʃɹɒp.ɪ.kəl/
  • (US) IPA^(key): /ˈtɹoʊ.pɪ.kəl/
  • Rhymes: -əʊpɪkəl

Adjective

tropical (comparative more tropical, superlative most tropical)

1. Of or pertaining to the tropics, the equatorial region between 23 degrees north and 23 degrees south.
2. From or similar to a hot humid climate.

   tropical fruit

   tropical weather

   • 1983, Richard Ellis, The Book of Sharks, Knopf, →ISBN, page 103:

     Whale sharks are found in all the tropical waters of the world. As with many tropical species, an occasional stray wanders into colder waters.

3. (dated) Pertaining to, involving, or of the nature of a trope or tropes; metaphorical, figurative.
   • 1654, Jeremy Taylor, The Real Presence […]

     the first tropical expression

   • 1692–1717, Robert South, Twelve Sermons Preached upon Several Occasions, 6th edition, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London: […] J[ames] Bettenham, for Jonah Bowyer, […], published 1727, →OCLC:

     The foundation of all parables is some analogy or similitude between the tropical or allusive part of the parable and the thing intended by it.

4. (mathematics) Pertaining to tropical geometry.

Derived terms

• extratropical
• subtropical
• tropical cyclone
• tropical depression
• tropical disturbance
• tropical storm
• tropical wave

Translations

of or pertaining to the tropics

• Arabic: مَدَارِيّ‎ (madāriyy)
• Armenian: արևադարձային (hy) (arewadarjayin)
• Catalan: tropical (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 熱帶／热带 (zh) (rèdài), 回歸線／回归线 (zh) (huíguīxiàn)

• Czech: tropický (cs)
• Danish: tropisk (da)
• Finnish: trooppinen (fi)
• French: tropical (fr)
• Friulian: tropicâl
• Galician: tropical (gl)
• German: tropisch (de)
• Greek: τροπικός (el) (tropikós)
• Gujarati: ઉષ્ણકટિબંધીય (uṣṇakṭibandhīya)
• Hebrew: טְרוֹפִּי‎ m (tropi)
• Hungarian: trópusi (hu), tropikus
• Icelandic: hitabeltis-
• Irish: teochriosach, trópaiceach
• Italian: tropicale (it)
• Japanese: 熱帯 (ja) (ねったい, nettai), 回帰線 (ja) (かきせん, kaikisen)
• Kazakh: тропиктік (tropiktık)
• Korean: 열대(熱帶) (ko) (yeoldae)
• Macedonian: тро́пски (trópski)
• Maori: pārūrū
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: tropisk

  Nynorsk: tropisk

• Polish: tropikalny (pl), zwrotnikowy (pl)
• Portuguese: tropical (pt)
• Romanian: tropical (ro)
• Russian: тропи́ческий (ru) (tropíčeskij)
• Scottish Gaelic: tropaigeach
• Spanish: tropical (es)
• Tagalog: alindanga
• Turkish: tropikal (tr)
• Welsh: trofannol (cy)

from or similar to a hot humid climate

• Arabic: مَدَارِيّ‎ (madāriyy)
• Catalan: tropical (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 熱帶／热带 (zh) (rèdài)

• Czech: tropický (cs)
• Danish: tropisk (da)
• Finnish: trooppinen (fi)
• French: tropical (fr)
• German: tropisch (de)
• Greek: τροπικός (el) (tropikós)
• Hungarian: trópusi (hu), tropikus
• Irish: teochriosach, trópaiceach
• Italian: tropicale (it)
• Japanese: 熱帯 (ja) (ねったい, nettai)
• Kazakh: тропикалық (tropikalyq), тропиктік (tropiktık)
• Korean: 열대(熱帶) (ko) (yeoldae)
• Macedonian: тро́пски (trópski)
• Maori: pārūrū
• Polish: tropikalny (pl)
• Portuguese: tropical (pt)
• Romanian: tropical (ro)
• Russian: тропи́ческий (ru) (tropíčeskij)
• Scottish Gaelic: tropaigeach
• Spanish: tropical (es)

dated: metaphorical, figurative — see figurative

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Dutch: ^{(please verify)} tropisch (nl)
• Esperanto: ^{(please verify)} tropika
• Hungarian: ^{(please verify)} tropikus

Noun

tropical (plural tropicals)

1. A tropical plant.
   • 1856, The Horticulturist and Journal of Rural Art and Rural Taste‎^[1], volume 12, page 275:

     The potato, as a mountain tropical plant, is capable of growing in cooler weather than any other tropical except the Nasturtian.

Translations

tropical plant

Further reading

• “tropical”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “tropical”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• tropical at OneLook Dictionary Search

Anagrams

• pictoral, proictal

Catalan

Etymology

From tròpic +‎ -al.

Pronunciation

• (Balearic, Valencian) IPA^(key): /tɾo.piˈkal/
• (Central) IPA^(key): /tɾu.piˈkal/

Adjective

tropical m or f (masculine and feminine plural tropicals)

1. tropical

Further reading

• “tropical” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.

French

Etymology

From tropique +‎ -al.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tʁɔ.pi.kal/

• Audio

  (file)

Adjective

tropical (feminine tropicale, masculine plural tropicaux, feminine plural tropicales)

1. (relational) of the tropics; tropical

   forêt tropicale ― (please add an English translation of this usage example)

2. (figuratively) scorching

   Synonym: caniculaire

Descendants

• → Romanian: tropical
• → Turkish: tropikal

See also

• équatorial

Further reading

• “tropical”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Galician

Adjective

tropical m or f (plural tropicais)

1. tropical

Further reading

• “tropical” in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega, Royal Galician Academy.

Piedmontese

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /trupiˈkal/

Adjective

tropical

1. tropical

Portuguese

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /tɾo.piˈkaw/ [tɾo.piˈkaʊ̯]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /tɾu.piˈkal/ [tɾu.piˈkaɫ]

• Rhymes: -al, -aw
• Hyphenation: tro‧pi‧cal

Adjective

tropical m or f (plural tropicais)

1. tropical (of or relating to the tropics)
2. tropical (from or similar to a hod humid climate)

Further reading

• “tropical” in Dicionário Aberto based on Novo Diccionário da Língua Portuguesa de Cândido de Figueiredo, 1913

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French tropical.

Adjective

tropical m or n (feminine singular tropicală, masculine plural tropicali, feminine and neuter plural tropicale)

1. tropical

Declension

Declension of tropical

		singular			plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine	masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative/ accusative	indefinite	tropical		tropicală	tropicali	tropicale
	definite	tropicalul		tropicala	tropicalii	tropicalele
genitive/ dative	indefinite	tropical		tropicale	tropicali	tropicale
	definite	tropicalului		tropicalei	tropicalilor	tropicalelor

Spanish

Etymology

From trópico +‎ -al.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tɾopiˈkal/ [t̪ɾo.piˈkal]
• Rhymes: -al
• Syllabification: tro‧pi‧cal

Adjective

tropical (plural tropicales)

1. tropical

Derived terms

• geometría tropical
• tropicalmente

 

Further reading

• “tropical”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014