nipa

American  

[nee-puh] / ˈni pə /

noun

1. a palm, Nypa fruticans, of India, the Philippines, etc., whose foliage is used for thatching, basketry, etc.

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nipa British  

/ ˈnaɪ-, ˈniːpə /

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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Etymology

Origin of nipa

1580–90; < New Latin < Malay nipah

Example Sentences

Like many a creek of the Niger Delta in southern Nigeria, it was choked by nipa palms.

From New York Times • Sep. 3, 2021

Once, its creek was home to thick forests of mangroves, but now most were gone, the victims of past environmental disasters and encroachment of invasive nipa palms, brought there long ago by the British.

From New York Times • Sep. 3, 2021

Allegedly this now secret process may revolutionize the sugar industry, cause nipa palms to spring up in place of sugar cane or sugar beets.

From Time Magazine Archive

"Bull" Halsey's battleships rained 1,400-and 2,100-lb. shells on to the beaches, amid the coconut and nipa palms which covered the narrow plain below the rolling, jungle-clad hills.

From Time Magazine Archive

Behind them nipa roared; black volutes of smoke rose heavily to the sky, broke against the turquoise lid and, rebounding, filled the air with acrid haze.

From Caybigan by Hopper, James