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nipa

[nee-puh]
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noun
  1. a palm, Nypa fruticans, of India, the Philippines, etc., whose foliage is used for thatching, basketry, etc.
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Origin of nipa

1580–90; < New Latin < Malay nipah
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for nipa

Historical Examples

  • Their Christmas-tree will be the royal palm; and nipa boughs their mistletoe.

    The Great White Tribe in Filipinia

    Paul T. Gilbert

  • The windows are of translucent shell, while the door is of nipa or wood.

    The Critic in the Orient

    George Hamlin Fitch

  • Each picks out his own little roof of nipa, tile, zinc, or palm.

  • For the latter, however, nipa palm and cógon grass are preferred.

    The Philippine Islands

    Ramon Reyes Lala

  • There are, besides, 100 Indian huts (chozas) constructed of the nipa palm.

British Dictionary definitions for nipa

nipa

noun
  1. a palm tree, Nipa fruticans, of S and SE Asia, having feathery leaves, used for thatching, and edible fruit
  2. the fruit or thatch obtained from this tree
  3. the sap of this tree, used to make a liquor
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Word Origin

C16: from Malay nīpah
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