'pantropical' originates from Greek prefix 'pan-' (from Greek 'pan' meaning 'all') combined with 'tropical', itself from Latin 'tropicus' via Greek 'tropikos' (from 'tropē' meaning 'a turn').

'tropical' entered English via Latin 'tropicus' from Greek 'tropikos' (related to 'tropē'), and in modern English the prefix 'pan-' was attached to form 'pantropical' to denote 'all the tropics'.

Initially formed simply by combining 'pan-' ('all') and 'tropical' (relating to the tropics), its meaning—'occurring across all tropical regions'—has remained essentially the same in modern usage.