‖ peepul, p{iacu}pal
(ˈpiːpʌl)
Also 8–9 peeple, pippal, peepal, pepal, -ul, pipul.
[Hindi pīpal:—Skr. pippala.]
An Indian species of fig-tree (Ficus religiosa), regarded as sacred: = bo-tree. Often attrib., peepul-, p{iacu}pal-tree.
| 1788 Asiatick Res. I. 390 An excavation..in the ground..filled with a fire of pippal wood. 1798 W. Tennant Ind. Recreat. (1803) II. 356 The seeds of the peeple tree..as often as they fall upon an old edifice spring up into trees with great rapidity. 1831 E. J. Trelawny Adv. Younger Son II. 162 A large pepul tree grew near. 1841 Elphinstone Hist. Ind. I. 241 The country is often scattered with old mangoe trees and lofty tamarinds and p{iacu}pals. 1887 Lang Myth, Ritual & Relig. II. 235 The village Gods which in India dwell in the peepul or the bo tree. 1891 Kipling Life's Handicap Pref. 7 Great pipal trees overhung the well-windlass. |