n. [ Hind. tālpāt the leaf of the tree. ] (Bot.) A beautiful tropical palm tree (Corypha umbraculifera), a native of Ceylon and the Malabar coast. It has a trunk sixty or seventy feet high, bearing a crown of gigantic fan-shaped leaves which are used as umbrellas and as fans in ceremonial processions, and, when cut into strips, as a substitute for writing paper. [ 1913 Webster ]
[ 1913 Webster ]