tropical year

American  

noun

1. a division of time equal to about 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 46 seconds, representing the interval between one vernal equinox and the next.

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tropical year British  

noun

1. another name for solar year See year

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tropical year Scientific  

1. A solar year.

2. See under solar time

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Etymology

Origin of tropical year

First recorded in 1585–95

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tropical year

The basic period of revolution of Earth, called the tropical year, is 365.2422 days.

From Textbooks ● Oct. 13, 2016

The second feature of the new Gregorian calendar was a change in the rule for leap year, making the average length of the year more closely approximate the tropical year.

From Textbooks ● Oct. 13, 2016

The true number of days in the mean tropical year actually varies slightly over time.

From Scientific American ● Oct. 18, 2011

The Julian calendar approximated the mean tropical year as 365.25 days and proposed 366-day leap years for every one divisible by four.

From Scientific American ● Oct. 18, 2011

This made three days taken off the 400 years, and in consequence the mean value of the civil year is reduced to 365·2425 days, which is not far from the true tropical year.

From Astronomical Myths Based on Flammarions's History of the Heavens by John F. Blake

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