Main Entry:

¹up·per

Pronunciation:

\ˈə-pər\

Function:

adjective

Etymology:

Middle English, comparative of ²up

Date:

14th century

1 a: higher in physical position, rank, or order <the upper lip> <upper management> b: farther inland <the upper Mississippi>2: constituting the branch of a bicameral legislature that is usually smaller and more restricted in membership and possesses greater traditional prestige than the lower house3 a: constituting a stratum relatively near the earth's surface bcapitalized : being a later epoch or series of the period or system named <Upper Cretaceous> <Upper Paleolithic>4: northern <upper Manhattan>