tropo-, trop-, -tropal, -trope(s), -tropic, -tropism, -tropia, -tropous, -tropy, trep-

(Greek: bend, curve, turn, a turning; response to stimulus)

Don't confuse this tropo-, -tropy element with tropho-, meaning "food, nourishment, nutrition".

orthotropic (adjective)
In botany, growing vertically with reference to developing plant organs that grow nearly vertically, either upward or downward.
phototropic (adjective)
The growth response of plant parts to the stimulus of light, producing a bending towards the source of light.
phototropism (s) (noun)
1. The growth, or movement, of a part of a plant in the direction of or away from light sources.
2. The tropism (movement) of an organism in response to the source of a light stimulus.
3. The change of color produced in a substance by the action of light.

A mother is yelling at her daughter, to get down from a tree and the daughter says to her companion, "She doesn't believe kids should manipulate a plant's natural phototropism to create organic arboreal habitats."

—As seen in a cartoon titled "Baldo" by Cantu and Castellanos
in the Stars and Stripes "Sunday Comics" section; July 20, 2008; page 3.
rheotrope (s) (noun), rheotropes (pl)
An instrument for reversing an electric current.
thermotropic (adjective)
A reference to the tendency of a plant to grow toward a source of heat.
thixotropy (s) (noun)
1. The property, exhibited by certain gels, of becoming fluid when shaken or otherwise agitated and then becoming semi-solid again at rest or resuming the gel state when standing.
2. In physical chemistry, a structural property that causes certain gels to liquefy when subjected to vibratory forces; such as, ultrasonic waves or even simple shaking, then to solidify again when left standing.
3. The property of certain gels of becoming less viscous when shaken or subjected to shearing forces and returning to the original viscosity upon standing.

Viscosity refers to the property of a fluid or semi-fluid that causes it to resist flowing as a thick and sticky consistency or quality.

4. Etymology: from Greek thigma, thixis, "touch" plus trope, "turning".

Thixotropy literally means, "turning through touch".

trope (s) (noun), tropes (pl)
Any literary or rhetorical device, such as a metaphor, that uses words in a sense different from their literal meanings; a figure of speech.
trophotropic (adjective)
Relating to or exhibiting the growth or movement of organisms in relation to a source or supply of food.
trophy (s) (noun), trophies (pl)
1. A plaque, medal, or other award given in acknowledgment of a victory, success, or some other achievement; especially, in a sporting contest.
2. A memento that symbolizes victory or success; for example, the head of an animal killed during a hunting expedition or something taken from an enemy killed in battle.
3. Something that symbolizes a personal victory or achievement.
4. In ancient Greece or Rome, a victory memorial in a public place or near a battlefield, originally a display of enemy weapons.
5. A representation of a Greek or Roman battle trophy; such as, on a commemorative medal, plaque, or monument.
6. A decorative casting or carving showing weapons or armor on a square or circular base.
7. Etymology: a trophy is something awarded to commemorate an enemy's "turning round" and running away.

From French trophee and Latin trophaeum from Greek tropaion, "monument to the enemy's defeat".

tropic (s) (noun), tropics (pl)
1. The two imaginary lines around the Earth at approximately 23.5 degrees north and 23.5 degrees south of the equator?.
2. Each of two corresponding circles on the celestial sphere where the sun appears to turn after reaching its greatest declination, marking the northern and southern limits of the ecliptic.
3. Etymology: from Middle English tropik, from Old French tropique, from Late Latin tropicus, from Latin, tropicus, "pertaining to a turn", from Greek tropikos, "of or pertaining to a turn" or "change of a turn".
Tropic of Cancer
Tropic of Capricorn (proper noun)
The parallel line of latitude 23° 27': The Tropic of Capricorn lies south of the equator, the southern boundary of the Torrid Zone, and the most southerly latitude at which the sun can shine directly overhead (at the December solstice).
tropical (adjective)
tropism (s) (noun), tropisms (pl)
The turning of an organism in response to a stimulus, either towards or away from the stimulus.
tropist (s) (noun), tropists (pl)
Someone who deals in tropes.

Inter-related cross references involving word units meaning "bend, curve, turn": diversi-; diverticul-; flect-, flex-; gyro-; meand-; -plex; streph-; stroph-; tors-; verg-; vers-; volv-.