upas

[ yoo-puhs ]

/ ˈyu pəs /

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noun

the poisonous milky sap of a large tree, Antiaris toxicaria, of the mulberry family, native to tropical Asia, Africa, and the Philippine Islands, used for arrow poison.

the tree itself.

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Origin of upas

1775–85; <Javanese: poison, especially dart poison

Words nearby upas

up-and-down, up-and-over, up-and-under, Upanishad, Upanishads, upas, up a tree, upaya, upbear, upbeat, upbound

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use upas in a sentence

Without her aid, this seminal principle of mischief, this root of Upas, could not have been planted.
Select Speeches of Daniel Webster|Daniel Webster
I also found that there is no deadly upas-tree in Java, which was a distinct shock to me.
My Life in Many States and in Foreign Lands|George Francis Train
One of the experiments to be related below, was made with the upas prepared by myself, after my return to the chief village.
The Book of Curiosities|I. Platts
It has an exceedingly long stem, but does not yield, like the upas, a whitish milky juice.
The Desert World|Arthur Mangin

This is the celebrated Upas, whose deadly properties were formerly exaggerated in so many wonderful fables.
The Desert World|Arthur Mangin

British Dictionary definitions for upas

upas

/ (ˈjuːpəs) /

noun

a large moraceous tree of Java, Antiaria toxicaria, having whitish bark and poisonous milky sap

the sap of this tree, used as an arrow poison

Also: antiar

Word Origin for upas

C19: from Malay: poison

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