Meaning

noun a state of violent disturbance and disorder (as in politics or social conditions generally)

noun a violent disturbance

noun (geology) a rise of land to a higher elevation (as in the process of mountain building)

originEtymology tree English upheave Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-der.? Proto-Italic *-ālis Latin -ālisbor. Old French -albor. ▲ Latin -ālis Old French -elbor. ▲ Latin -ālisbor. Middle English -al English -al English upheaval From upheave + -al.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0