Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - tupelo

 geographical name city NE Mississippi population 34,211 TUPELO  noun  (plural -los)  Etymology: perhaps from Creek *topilo, from eto tree + pilo:(fa), opilo:(fa) swamp  Date: circa 1730  1. any of a genus (Nyssa of the family Nyssaceae) of North American and Asian deciduous trees that have simple alternate leaves, small usually greenish-white dioecious flowers, and a rounded drupe; especially black gum  2. the pale soft wood of a ~