Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

nyctitropic

[nik-ti-trop-ik, -troh-pik]
See more synonyms for nyctitropic on Thesaurus.com
adjective Botany.
  1. tending to assume at or just before nightfall positions unlike those maintained during the day, as the leaves or flowers of certain plants.
Show More

Origin of nyctitropic

First recorded in 1875–80; nycti- + -tropic
Related formsnyc·tit·ro·pism [nik-ti-truh-piz-uh m] /nɪkˈtɪ trəˌpɪz əm/, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for nyctitropism

Historical Examples

  • This will explain why attempts at explanation of the phenomenon of nyctitropism had hitherto proved so baffling.

    Life Movements in Plants, Volume II, 1919

    Sir Jagadis Chunder Bose

British Dictionary definitions for nyctitropism

nyctitropism

noun
  1. a tendency of some plant parts to assume positions at night that are different from their daytime positions
Show More
Derived Formsnyctitropic (ˌnɪktɪˈtrɒpɪk), adjective

Word Origin

C19: nyct-, from Greek nukt-, nux night + -tropism
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