tropism
The turning of an organism or part of an organism either towards or away from a stimulusThe turning of an organism (chiefly a plant) or part of an organism either towards or away from a stimulus; (countable) an instance of this.
Meaning
3 senses(uncountable)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.
Tropismus, Pflanzenbewegung
тропи́змtropízm
тропізмtropizm
(broadly, countable)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
Tropismus
(countable, figuratively)Of a person: an instinctive predilection or tendency; also (generally), a liking, a preference.
- an involuntary orienting response; positive or negative reaction to a stimulus source
Translations
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By meaning 1
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Origin
From -tropism (suffix meaning ‘growth towards; movement, turning’) (possibly based on geotFrom -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).
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Forms
plural: tropismsWord family
3 related wordsLessons for this word
1 lessons- A1Countable and uncountable nouns — Because it can be uncountable