Meanings
Synonyms & antonyms
proper nounThe parallel of latitude 23°26′ north of the equator, marking the northern boundary of the tropics; the sun is directly overhead at the June solstice.
Similar
Also see
Origin
The Sun was in the constellation Cancer at the June solstice when it was named.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans Kreefskeerkring
- Kreefskeerkringthe parallel north of the equator marking the boundary of the tropics
Arabic مَدَار السَّرَطَان
- مَدَار السَّرَطَان (madār as-saraṭān)the parallel north of the equator marking the boundary of the tropics
Basque Kantzer tropikoa
- Kantzer tropikoathe parallel north of the equator marking the boundary of the tropics
Bulgarian Тропик на Рака
- Тропик на Рака (Tropik na Raka)the parallel north of the equator marking the boundary of the tropics
Catalan tròpic de Càncer
- tròpic de Càncerthe parallel north of the equator marking the boundary of the tropics
Chinese Mandarin 北回歸線 /北回归线
- 北回歸線 /北回归线 (Běihuíguīxiàn)the parallel north of the equator marking the boundary of the tropics
Czech obratník Raka
- obratník Rakathe parallel north of the equator marking the boundary of the tropics
Danish Krebsens vendekreds
- Krebsens vendekredsthe parallel north of the equator marking the boundary of the tropics
Dutch Kreeftskeerkring
- Kreeftskeerkringthe parallel north of the equator marking the boundary of the tropics
Esperanto Tropiko de Kankro
- Tropiko de Kankrothe parallel north of the equator marking the boundary of the tropics
Estonian Vähi pöörijoon
- Vähi pöörijoonthe parallel north of the equator marking the boundary of the tropics
Finnish Kravun kääntöpiiri
- Kravun kääntöpiirithe parallel north of the equator marking the boundary of the tropics
French tropique du Cancer
- tropique du Cancerthe parallel north of the equator marking the boundary of the tropics
German nördlicher Wendekreis
- nördlicher Wendekreisthe parallel north of the equator marking the boundary of the tropics
Greek Τροπικός του Καρκίνου
- Τροπικός του Καρκίνου (Tropikós tou Karkínou)the parallel north of the equator marking the boundary of the tropics
Hebrew חוג הסרטן
- חוג הסרטן (khúg hasartán)the parallel north of the equator marking the boundary of the tropics
Hindi कर्क रेखा
- कर्क रेखा (kark rekhā)the parallel north of the equator marking the boundary of the tropics
Hungarian Ráktérítő
- Ráktérítőthe parallel north of the equator marking the boundary of the tropics
Indonesian garis balik utara
- garis balik utarathe parallel north of the equator marking the boundary of the tropics
Irish Trópaic an Phortáin
- Trópaic an Phortáinthe parallel north of the equator marking the boundary of the tropics
Italian Tropico del Cancro
- Tropico del Cancrothe parallel north of the equator marking the boundary of the tropics
Japanese 北回帰線
- 北回帰線 (kita kaikisen)the parallel north of the equator marking the boundary of the tropics
Korean 북회귀선
- 북회귀선 (bukhoegwiseon)the parallel north of the equator marking the boundary of the tropics
Latvian Ziemeļu tropu loks
- Ziemeļu tropu loksthe parallel north of the equator marking the boundary of the tropics
Lithuanian Vėžio atogrąža, Šiaurės atogrąža
- Vėžio atogrąžathe parallel north of the equator marking the boundary of the tropics
- Šiaurės atogrąžathe parallel north of the equator marking the boundary of the tropics
Malay Garisan Sartan
- Garisan Sartanthe parallel north of the equator marking the boundary of the tropics
Māori te ara o Matariki
- te ara o Matarikithe parallel north of the equator marking the boundary of the tropics
Norwegian Bokmål Krepsens vendekrets
- Krepsens vendekretsthe parallel north of the equator marking the boundary of the tropics
Persian مدار رأسالسرطان
- مدار رأسالسرطان (madâr-e ra's-os-saratân)the parallel north of the equator marking the boundary of the tropics
Polish zwrotnik Raka
- zwrotnik Rakathe parallel north of the equator marking the boundary of the tropics
Portuguese Trópico de Câncer
- Trópico de Câncerthe parallel north of the equator marking the boundary of the tropics
Romanian Tropicul Cancerului
- Tropicul Canceruluithe parallel north of the equator marking the boundary of the tropics
Russian тро́пик Ра́ка, се́верный тро́пик
- тро́пик Ра́ка (trópik Ráka)the parallel north of the equator marking the boundary of the tropics
- се́верный тро́пик (sévernyj trópik)the parallel north of the equator marking the boundary of the tropics
Scottish Gaelic Crìoch Thuath na Grèine, Tropaig a' Phortain
- Crìoch Thuath na Grèinethe parallel north of the equator marking the boundary of the tropics
- Tropaig a' Phortainthe parallel north of the equator marking the boundary of the tropics
Slovak Obrátnik Raka
- Obrátnik Rakathe parallel north of the equator marking the boundary of the tropics
Spanish trópico de Cáncer
- trópico de Cáncerthe parallel north of the equator marking the boundary of the tropics
Swedish Kräftans vändkrets
- Kräftans vändkretsthe parallel north of the equator marking the boundary of the tropics
Tagalog Tropiko ng Kanser
- Tropiko ng Kanserthe parallel north of the equator marking the boundary of the tropics
Thai ทรอปิกออฟแคนเซอร์
- ทรอปิกออฟแคนเซอร์ (trɔɔ-bpìk-ɔɔf-kɛɛn-sə̂ə)the parallel north of the equator marking the boundary of the tropics
Turkish Yengeç dönencesi, yengeç dönencesi
- Yengeç dönencesithe parallel north of the equator marking the boundary of the tropics
- yengeç dönencesithe parallel north of the equator marking the boundary of the tropics
Ukrainian тро́пік Ра́ка, півні́чний тропік
- тро́пік Ра́ка (trópik Ráka)the parallel north of the equator marking the boundary of the tropics
- півні́чний тропік (pivníčnyj tropik)the parallel north of the equator marking the boundary of the tropics
Vietnamese chí tuyến Bắc
- chí tuyến Bắcthe parallel north of the equator marking the boundary of the tropics
Welsh Trofan y Cranc
- Trofan y Crancthe parallel north of the equator marking the boundary of the tropics
Cite this entry
APA
Tropic of Cancer. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Tropic%20of%20Cancer
MLA
“Tropic of Cancer.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Tropic%20of%20Cancer. Accessed November 5, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Tropic of Cancer,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Tropic%20of%20Cancer.
Source: Tropic of Cancer on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.