geotropism

[jee-o-truh-piz-uh m]

noun Biology.

oriented growth with respect to the force of gravity.

Origin of geotropism

First recorded in 1870–75; geo- + -tropism

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for geotropism

Historical Examples of geotropism

Geotropism is a specific subject in the physiology of plants.
Papers and proceedings of the thirty-fifth general meeting of the American Library Association, 1913
Various
Thus I am now observing something about geotropism, and I had no idea a few weeks ago that this would have been necessary.
More Letters of Charles Darwin Volume II
Charles Darwin
No phenomenon of tropic movement appears so inexplicable as that of geotropism.
Life Movements in Plants, Volume II, 1919
Sir Jagadis Chunder Bose
The root is thus supposed to be characterised by "positive" and the shoot by "negative" geotropism.
Life Movements in Plants, Volume II, 1919
Sir Jagadis Chunder Bose
Hence an agent which acts on the organ from outside, induces phototropic change earlier than variation in geotropism.
Life Movements in Plants, Volume II, 1919
Sir Jagadis Chunder Bose

British Dictionary definitions for geotropism

geotropism

noun

the response of a plant part to the stimulus of gravity. Plant stems, which grow upwards irrespective of the position in which they are placed, show negative geotropism

Derived Formsgeotropic (ˌdʒiːəʊˈtrɒpɪk), adjectivegeotropically, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for geotropism

1874, from German Geotropismus, from geo- + Greek trope (see trope). Coined in 1868 by German botanist Albert Bernhard Frank (1839-1900). Related: Geotropic.

geotropism in Science

geotropism

[jē-ŏt′rə-pĭz′əm]

The directional growth of an organism in response to gravity. Roots display positive geotropism when they grow downwards, while shoots display negative geotropism when they grow upwards. Also called gravitropism

Related formsgeotropic adjective (jē′ə-trō′pĭk, jē′ə-trŏp′ĭk)