There is an opinion that Lithuanian “tuopa” (Populus spp.) can not reasonably be considered as legacy of the “ide.” parent language and compared to Latin “populus”. The etymology of the Latin word is not clear; there is no base to reconstruct the “ide.” “pop-“ or similar. In case Lithuanian “tuopa” developed from Lithuanian “puopa” due to the influence of the word “topolis”, as it was maintained so far, footprints of such word should be found in Lithuanian place names and botanical names. But they are not. The meaning of the word “puopa” is unclear too. “Populus spp.” are foreign, not local, trees. Local tree is “drebulė” (asp) synonymically called “epušė” both abundantly witnessed in place names. “Tuopa” is almost never met in dialects, just in literature. Thus it should not be inherited. The author discusses the way the word developed: analysing the word “top-elė “ or similar into neo root “top-“ and supposed suffix “-e/ė”. But the words “topas” or “topa” were not detected. The other alternative is due to the homophonic “tuopa” (idler, slow-walker) witnessed in the same sources as the influence of “Populus”
