antitropic
|an-ti-trop-ic|
🇺🇸
/ˌæn.tiˈtrɑːpɪk/
🇬🇧
/ˌæn.tɪˈtrɒpɪk/
opposite turning/orientation
Etymology
'antitropic' originates from Greek and New Latin, specifically the elements 'anti-' and 'tropikos', where 'anti-' meant 'against, opposite' and 'tropos' meant 'turn'.
'antitropic' changed from Greek element combinations (Greek 'antí-' + 'tropikos') through New Latin formations such as 'antitropicus' and entered modern English as 'antitropic' (modeled also on related English 'antitropical').
Initially, it meant 'opposed in turning or showing opposite tropism', but over time it also came to be used for the biogeographical sense 'occurring at corresponding latitudes in opposite hemispheres'.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Adjective 1
exhibiting antitropism; showing growth, movement, or orientation in a direction opposite to a stimulus or to another part (biology, physiology).
The seedlings displayed antitropic responses, bending away from the chemical gradient.
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Adjective 2
occurring in corresponding regions of opposite hemispheres (biogeography); distributed at similar latitudes in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres but absent from the tropics.
Several marine species show an antitropic distribution, appearing in similar latitudes north and south of the equator.
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Last updated: 2025/09/11 21:36