tropism
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tropism
- /ˈtɹəʊpɪz(ə)m/ UK
- /ˈtɹoʊˌpɪzəm/ US
Where it comes from
From -tropism (suffix meaning ‘growth towards; movement, turning’) (possibly based on geotropism and heliotropism), from Latin tropus + English -ism (suffix forming nouns of action, process, or result). Tropus is derived from Ancient Greek τρόπος (trópos, “a turn; a manner, style, way; figure of speech, trope; etc.”), from τρέπω (trépō, “to turn; to divert; to rotate or change orientation”) (from Proto-Indo-European *trep- (“to turn”)) + -ος (-os, suffix forming nouns of result or abstract nouns of action).
Sense 1 (“turning of an organism or part of an organism towards or away from a stimulus”) is modelled after German Tropismus.
noun tropisms
- The turning of an organism (chiefly a plant) or part of an organism either towards or away from a stimulus; (countable) an instance of this. Orientation and tropism are synonymous expressions; that gatherings [of Paramecium] take place is a consequence of the orientation, and therefore throws no light whatever upon the tropisms. (Gatherings, however, are not always indicative of a tropism, i.e., of an orientation, but may be due to kines
- A capability or tendency for a pathogen (chiefly a virus) to infect a type of cell, tissue, organ, or host organism. host tropism tissue tropism
- Of a person: an instinctive predilection or tendency; also (generally), a liking, a preference. It is reasonable to suppose that tropism will be less conspicuous in animals which are endowed with intelligence than in others; but well-marked tropisms are still to be found among the higher animals. Gregarious animals have a positive tropism toward the members of their own flock; the dog has a ne
Translations
Every language
noun turning of an organism or part of an organism either towards or away from a stimulus; an instance of this
| Español | tropismo |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 굴성 gulseong |
| 日本語 | 屈性 kussei |
| 中文 | 向性 xiàngxìng |
| Português | tropismo |
| Français | tropisme |
| Deutsch | Tropismus, Pflanzenbewegung |
| Italiano | tropismo, trofismo |
| Ελληνικά | τροπισμός tropismós |
| Română | tropism |
| Русский | тропи́зм tropízm |
| العربية | انتحاء |
| עברית | טרופיזם |
noun capability or tendency for a pathogen to infect a type of cell, tissue, organ, or host organism
| Deutsch | Tropismus |
|---|
Talk about this word "tropism." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/tropism. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026. tropism. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 7, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/tropism "tropism." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 7, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/tropism.Cite this
@misc{tropism_2026,
title = {tropism},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/tropism},
urldate = {2026-11-07}
}
