tip; top end
Archaic noun for the tip or top end of something. No longer used in modern Japanese; replaced by words like 先端 (せんたん) or 先 (さき).
古語では、木の末を「うら」と呼んだ。
In old language, the tip of a tree was called 'ura'.
元 refers to the base or root of something, the opposite end from the tip described by 末 (うら).
end leaves; top leaves; last leaves
treetop
top knock of a bow
withering of twigs and branch tips
late-season fruit; stunted fruit from the vine tip · weak-looking man; pale-faced man
wither at the tips; die back (of foliage)
The historical derivation is uncertain. The kanji 末 is conventionally associated with 'end' or 'tip', but the reading うら is archaic and its origin is unclear.