tropicanan.
/ˌtrɒpɪˈkɑːnə/, U.S. /ˌtrɑpᵻˈkænə/ 1. North American. Also with capital initial. A type of lightweight, synthetic fabric used in the manufacturing of clothing. Frequently attributive. Now rare.
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1937 Covina (Calif.) Argus 19 Feb. 6/7 Pango cloth, tropicana, unusual linens, give one that vacationy feeling.
1947 Portsmouth (Ohio) Times 23 Oct. 5/3 (advt.) At long last, the perfect dress! Thoroughbred from its uncluttered look..to its slim gored skirt. Precision tailored of ‘Tropicana’, an acetate blend.
1966 Oakland (Calif.) Tribune 27 May d3/3 (advt.) Warm weather buy! Enjoy business, vacation, travel in this light cool new tropicana suit.
1976 Winnipeg Free Press 8 Oct. 76/1 (advt.) Tropicana fabric—avril rayon-and-polyester blend with linen-look.
2. With plural and occasionally singular agreement. Things associated with or characteristic of tropical regions; objects from the tropics. Also attributive.
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the world > the earth > region of the earth > zone or belt > [noun] > one of five > tropical > things associated with
tropicana1960
1960 Spectator 1 July 12/2 Cockfighting is part of the exotic tropicana Haiti offers to American tourists.
1969 ‘G. Black’ Cold Jungle xii. 165 An astonishing display of tropicana, palms, bamboo, a couple of flame trees.
1976 Listener 29 Jan. 121/3 ‘That slice of the mind which is pure tropicana’—a mixture of Kipling and Maugham.
1990 A. L. Huxtable Unreal Amer. 81 They have seen the real thing on packaged tours but prefer the combination of tropicana and silks (the trade name for false foliage) with the added attraction of live white tigers.
2007 Glamour Apr. 220 Get beachside ready in bright, eye-catching prints and splashes of tropicana colour.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2014; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1937