Origin: Latin suffix -al
Tropical has 6 different meanings across 1 category:
A tropical plant.
"The visitor to the conservatory was immediately captivated by the lush, vibrant colors of the exotic tropical plants growing in the humid greenhouse."
"The tropical brought sudden rain to the region this afternoon."
characterized by or of the nature of a trope or tropes; changed from its literal sense
"The poet's tropical language transformed simple observations into complex metaphors that danced between reality and imagination."
Of or pertaining to the tropics, the equatorial region between 23 degrees north and 23 degrees south.
"The team of botanists traveled deep into tropical rainforests to study rare plant species found only in that equatorial zone."
In plain English: Tropical describes things related to warm areas near the equator where it is hot and rainy all year round.
"The tropical rainforest is home to thousands of different species."
Usage: Use tropical to describe climates, plants, animals, or regions located near the equator where temperatures remain warm year-round. Avoid using it for general hot weather in other parts of the world that lack consistent humidity or specific seasonal patterns found in the tropics.
The word tropical comes from the Latin term tropicus, which originally referred to the tropics or zones of latitude marked by the sun's turning points. It entered English through French adaptations that added the suffix -al to create an adjective describing things related to these warm regions near the equator.