tropic

Where does the word "tropic" come from? It comes from Greek tropikos, passing through Old French before entering English (1300s).

Tropic’s story begins in Greek: tropikos meant “of the turning.” Greek, from 'tropē', turning: the sun turns back at the solstice. By medieval, the word had taken hold in Old French as tropique. Came via Latin 'tropicus'. It reached English by 1300s as tropic. The 'tropics' as a hot region date from the 1500s. Today, tropic means one of two lines of latitude around the equator.

1. Stage 1 · Greek · ancient tropikos "of the turning", Greek, from 'tropē', turning: the sun turns back at the solstice.
2. Stage 2 · Old French · medieval tropique "tropic", came via Latin 'tropicus'.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1300s tropic "solstice line", the 'tropics' as a hot region date from the 1500s.