Origin: 1500-1600 Latin tropicus of the point where the sun turns back having gone its furthest north and south, from Greek, from trope; ➔ TROPHY
1 the tropics [plural] the hottest part of the world, which is between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn2[countable] one of the two imaginary lines around the world, either the Tropic of Cancer which is 23½° north of the equator, or the Tropic of Capricorn which is 23½° south of the equator