orthotropic
|or-tho-trop-ic|
🇺🇸
/ˌɔrθəˈtroʊpɪk/
🇬🇧
/ˌɔːθəˈtrəʊpɪk/
axis-aligned directional
Etymology
'orthotropic' originates from Greek, specifically the words 'orthos' and 'tropos', where 'orthos' meant 'straight' or 'upright' and 'tropos' meant 'turn' or 'direction'.
'orthotropic' was formed in modern scientific/technical usage (via New Latin/Modern English coinage) from Greek roots 'orthos' + 'tropos' and eventually became the established English adjective 'orthotropic'.
Initially it literally combined senses of 'straight' and 'turn/direction' ('straight-turning'), but over time it came to mean 'having orientation- or axis-dependent properties' or 'growing along a straight/main axis'.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Adjective 1
in materials science and engineering: having different physical properties along three mutually perpendicular axes (a special case of anisotropic).
The composite panel is orthotropic, with stiffness varying along three perpendicular axes.
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Adjective 2
in botany/plant morphology: exhibiting growth oriented along the main axis (upright growth), as opposed to lateral or oblique growth.
Orthotropic branches grow upward along the main stem, unlike plagiotropic branches.
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Last updated: 2025/10/05 08:41