tropicus

Latin adjective
loaned from Greek

Last edited: 2024-10-28
Primary meaning tropical
Literal translation belonging to a turn
Variants
tropicus
Edited by
tropical astronomical term, astrological concept, zodiac sign quality

Tropicum autem ideo dictum est quod in eo signo Sol constitutus vernum tempus faciat

‘The sign is called tropical because when the Sun is located in that sign it makes the spring season’

— Firmicus Maternus, Mathesis 2.10.4

Genre: astrological compendium
Provenance: Sicily
Date: ca. 334 CE

Firmicus Maternus. 1897. Ivlii Firmici Materni Matheseos Libri VIII, ed. W. Kroll, F. Skutsch. Stuttgart: B. G. Teubner. 1.53

solstitial astronomical term, astrological concept, zodiac sign quality

the signs at a solstice (Cancer, Capricorn)

Cite this entry
APA (7th)
Meinhardt, K. (2024). tropicus (Lemma #961). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/961/
Chicago (Author-Date)
Meinhardt, K. (2024). tropicus (Lemma #961). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/961/
MLA (9th)
Meinhardt, K. (2024). tropicus (Lemma #961). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/961/
Harvard
Meinhardt, K. (2024) tropicus (Lemma #961), The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. Available at: https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/961/ (Accessed: December 1, 2025).
BibTeX 
@misc{zodiac961,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2025-12-01]},
	author = {Meinhardt, Kierán},
	year = {2024},
	title = {tropicus ({Lemma} #961)},
	url = {https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/961/},
	howpublished = {https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/961/},
}