peepul

English

Alternative forms

• peepal, pipul, pipal

Etymology

Borrowed from Hindi पीपल / Urdu پیپل (pīpal), from Sanskrit पिप्पल (pippala). Doublet of falafel and pepper.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈpiː.pl̩/

Noun

peepul (plural peepuls)

1. The sacred fig, Ficus religiosa. [1780s]
   • 1997, Kiran Nagarkar, Cuckold, HarperCollins, published 2013, page 138:

     This was about the time she caught me in the branches of the peepul tree a good mile and a quarter up river on the banks of the Gambhiree, spying on the women who went there to wash their clothes and themselves.

Translations

Ficus religiosa — see sacred fig