Meanings
plural upases
- countableusuallyA tree, Antiaris toxicaria, of the mulberry family, common in the forests of Java and the neighboring islands, with poisonous secretions.
[I]t is an all-blasting upas, whose root is earth, and whose leaves are the skies which rain their poison-dews upon mankind.
1818, Thomas Love Peacock, chapter 11, in Nightmare Abbey, Hookham, published 1818Synonyms: bohun upas
- uncountableusuallyA virulent poison used in Java and the adjacent islands for poisoning arrows and derived from the tree.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA tree, Antiaris toxicaria, of the mulberry family, common in the forests of Java and the neighboring islands, with poisonous secretions.
nounA poison prepared from the climbing plant Strychnos tieute.
Origin
- Proto-Malayo-Polynesian*upas
- Malayupas
- Englishupas
Borrowed from Malay upas.
More words from Malay
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian анча́р
- анча́р (ančár)tree
Chinese Mandarin 見血封喉 /见血封喉
- 見血封喉 /见血封喉 (jiànxuèfēnghóu)tree
Esperanto upasarbo
- upasarbotree
French upas antiar
- upas antiartree
Malay pokok upas, upas
- pokok upastree
- upaspoison from Antiaris toxicaria
- upaspoison from Strychnos tieute
Portuguese antiar, antiar
- antiartree
- antiarpoison from Antiaris toxicaria
Russian анча́р, упа́с
- анча́р (ančár)tree
- упа́с (upás)tree
Ukrainian анчар
- анчар (ančar)tree
Vietnamese sui, thuốc bắn
- suitree
- thuốc bắntree
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
upas. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/upas
“upas.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/upas. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “upas,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/upas.
Source: upas on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.