Troposphere
/ˈtroʊ.pəˌsfɪr/noun
The lowest layer of Earth’s atmosphere, where most weather occurs.
Did you know?Troposphere comes from Greek tropos, “turning” or “change,” the same root behind rhetoric’s “trope,” because this atmospheric layer is defined by constant change and mixing.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
GR
tropos
“a turn, way, or change”
Ancient Greek
GR
sphaira
“a globe or sphere”
1900s
English
troposphere
“the lowest region of the atmosphere, where temperature generally changes with altitude and weather occurs”
Modern English
EN
troposphere
“the atmospheric layer extending from Earth’s surface upward to the stratosphere”