Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Any of several trees of the genus Nyssa of Asia and the eastern United States, having simple alternate leaves and small flowers.
  • noun The light wood of any of these trees.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun One of several species of Nyssa, most commonly N. sylvatica (N, multiflora), the pepperidge, sour-gum, or black-gum. See black-gum, and cut under Nyssa.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Bot.) A North American tree (Nyssa multiflora) of the Dogwood family, having brilliant, glossy foliage and acid red berries. The wood is crossgrained and very difficult to split. Called also black gum, sour gum, and pepperidge.
  • noun (Bot.) an American tree (Nyssa uniflora) with softer wood than the tupelo.
  • noun (Bot.) the Ogeechee lime.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Any of several trees of the genus Nyssa which grow in swampy regions on the eastern, southern and midwestern United States.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a town in northeast Mississippi
  • noun any of several gum trees of swampy areas of North America
  • noun pale soft wood of a tupelo tree especially the water gum

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Probably Creek 'topilwa : íto, tree + opílwa, swamp.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Creek.

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Examples

  • The next in importance being the "tupelo" or "bay poplar," and the least of the trio is designated as "black" or

    Seasoning of Wood

  • Their champs include a small 14-foot-tall winterberry tree and a big water tupelo with a trunk 39½ feet in circumference.

    Hunters have unusual aim: Big trees 2011

  • And now this is all open water and dead cypress and tupelo trees.

    La. Looks To New Plan To Restore Fragile Coast 2010

  • Acorns were falling, tupelo berries were ripe in the river bottoms, squirrels were feeding heavily, leaves were on the trees and the obligatory frost was close enough that warbles were not a problem.

    What Happened to Squirrel Hunting? 2009

  • Acorns were falling, tupelo berries were ripe in the river bottoms, squirrels were feeding heavily, leaves were on the trees and the obligatory frost was close enough that warbles were not a problem.

    What Happened to Squirrel Hunting? 2009

  • And now this is all open water and dead cypress and tupelo trees.

    La. Looks To New Plan To Restore Fragile Coast 2010

  • Their champs include a small 14-foot-tall winterberry tree and a big water tupelo with a trunk 39½ feet in circumference.

    Hunters have unusual aim: Big trees 2011

  • Home brewers have been known to buy $1,000 worth of Spanish saffron or hundreds of pounds of tupelo honey to flavor their concoctions.

    Extreme Brewing 2010

  • Home brewers have been known to buy $1,000 worth of Spanish saffron or hundreds of pounds of tupelo honey to flavor their concoctions.

    Extreme Brewing 2010

  • Those who ventured outside moved as if they were swimming in tupelo honey.

    Katrina plus five 2010

Comments

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  • A type of honey from the SE United States which bees produce when these trees of swamps and floodplains bloom. Traditionally, beekeepers move the bee boxes by skiff or johnboat or other water craft into the swamps to isolated upland areas to let the bees do their work. The honey thus produced in the combs is of a very fine grade and flavor, and sought after by many.

    November 10, 2009

  • John has a boat? So that's how he keeps Wordie afloat.

    November 10, 2009