Meaning

noun either of two parallels of latitude about 23.5 degrees to the north and south of the equator representing the points farthest north and south at which the sun can shine directly overhead and constitut

adjective relating to or situated in or characteristic of the tropics (the region on either side of the equator)

adjective of weather or climate; hot and humid as in the tropics

originFrom Late Latin tropicus (“of or pertaining to the solstice, as a noun, one of the tropics”), from Ancient Greek τροπικός (tropikós, “of or pertaining to a turn or change; or the solstice; or a trope or figure; tropic; tropical; etc.”), from τροπή (tropḗ, “turn; solstice; trope”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0