# tropic

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈtɹɒpɪk/ · frequency rank #35,995

## Definitions
1. Either of the two parallels of latitude 23°26′ north and south of the equator; the farthest points at which the sun can be directly overhead; the boundaries of the torrid zone or tropics.
2. The component of tone or rhetoric in a sentence.

## Etymology
From 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”).

## Easily confused with
- **tropics** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tropic-vs-tropics)
- **tropical** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tropic-vs-tropical)
- **topic** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/topic-vs-tropic)
- **toxic** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/toxic-vs-tropic)
- **tonic** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tonic-vs-tropic)
- **trope** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/trope-vs-tropic)
- **topics** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/topics-vs-tropic)
- **tragic** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tragic-vs-tropic)

## Common misspellings (9)
`rtopic`, `torpic`, `troipc`, `tropci`, `tropicc`, `troppic`, `trpoic`, `trropic`, `ttropic`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/tropic