isotrope
|i-so-trope|
🇺🇸
/ˈaɪsəˌtroʊp/
🇬🇧
/ˈaɪsətrəʊp/
same in all directions
Etymology
'isotrope' originates from New Latin/modern scientific coinage, ultimately from Greek 'isotrópos' (ἰσοτρόπος), where 'iso-' meant 'equal' and 'tropos' meant 'turn' or 'direction'.
'isotrope' entered scientific English in the 19th century (via writings in German and French on optics and physics) from New Latin/Greek roots: Greek 'isotrópos' → New Latin/modern scientific 'isotropus'/'isotrope' → English 'isotrope'.
Initially coined to express the idea 'having equal orientation/turn' (i.e., equal properties in all directions); over time it stabilized to mean specifically a material or locus characterized by directional uniformity (the modern technical senses).
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
a material or body that is isotropic — i.e., having the same physical properties (such as refractive index, conductivity, mechanical properties) in all directions.
In optics, an isotrope is a medium whose optical properties are identical in every direction.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Noun 2
a technical term for a locus (line, surface, or set of points) along which a specified physical quantity has the same value — i.e., an 'equal-value' locus for that quantity (used in some branches of physics and mathematics).
The researchers mapped the isotropes of seismic velocity to study directional uniformity in the rock formation.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Last updated: 2025/09/19 11:10