Etymology

neotropical

N1E1O1T1R1O1P3I1C3A1L1

Today it means: Occurring in tropical America, i.e. the tropics of the New World. Full definition →

English tropical ← Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.? ← Ancient Greek νεο- (neo-)
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*nu
  2. Proto-Indo-European*néwos
  3. Proto-Hellenic*néwos
  4. Ancient Greekνέος (néos)
  5. Ancient Greekνεο- (neo-)
  6. Englishneo-
  7. Englishtropic
  8. Proto-Indo-European*h₂el-
  9. Proto-Indo-European*h₂élisder.?
  10. Englishtropical
  11. English todayneotropical

From neo- + tropical.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.