TROPISM

tropism

(noun) an involuntary orienting response; positive or negative reaction to a stimulus source

Source: WordNet® 3.1

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Etymology

Noun

tropism (countable and uncountable, plural tropisms)

(biology) The turning of an organism in response to a stimulus, either towards or away from the stimulus.

(virology) Which type of tissue supports a certain virus.

Usage notes

(biology): Distinguished from taxis in that in a taxis, the organism has motility and moves towards or away from stimulus (e.g, bacteria, animals), while in a tropism the organism is not motile, and simply turns or grows towards or away from stimulus (e.g, plants, fungi). Similarly, kinesis is distinguished as non-directional movement.

In compound terms, analyzed as suffix -tropism, not stand-alone tropism.

Anagrams

• imports, primost, promist

Source: Wiktionary

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Tro"pism, n. [Gr. a turning, to turn + -ism.] (Physiol.)

Definition: Modification of the direction of growth.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition

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