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tropic

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tropic

Main Entry:: ¹trop·ic
Pronunciation:: \ˈträ-pik\
Function:: noun
Etymology:: Middle English tropik, from Latin tropicus of the solstice, from Greek tropikos, from tropē turn
Date:: 1527

1: either of the two parallels of terrestrial latitude at a distance of about 23¹⁄₂ degrees north or south of the equator where the sun is directly overhead when it reaches its most northerly or southerly point in the sky — compare tropic of cancer , tropic of capricorn2plural often capitalized : the region lying between the tropics

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