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tip

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English has several words spelled tip: the pointed end of something, probably from Low German or Norse; a verb meaning to overturn or tilt, of uncertain origin; and a light tap, from which perhaps came the senses “gratuity” and “hint”.[1][2][3]

Pronunciation

tip1 end

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English tippe,[1][5] not attested in Old English,[2] probably borrowed from Middle Low German tip (“utmost point, extremity”) or Middle Dutch tip,[2][1][5] or from a Scandinavian source such as Old Norse typpi,[2][3] which Hoad derives from the base of top.[3] German Zipfel is a related diminutive.[2][1] Proposed connections with top present phonetic difficulties.[2] Barnhart traces it ultimately to the root of Old English tæppa, the source of tap “stopper”.[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Probably before 1200 in Barnhart, as tippe;[1] the late 14th century in Etymonline, where the earliest uses refer to the end of the toe, as in tiptoe (about 1390, in Chaucer).[2][1] The slender end of a thing: about 1440 in the OED.[6]

Semantic evolution

It was later used of the tip of a tongue, finger, arrow or pen.[2] A small piece of metal or leather fitted to the end of something is from about 1440,[6] and the verb, to put a tip on, from about 1395, in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales.[1][2] On the tip of one's tongue is by 1722.[2] In the tea trade, tips are the leaf buds, by 1897.[2][6] Tiptop, the very top, is from 1702, and first-rate from 1732.[1] In northern dialect arse over tip means head over heels.[7][2]

Timeline

  • a. 1200 – tippe.[1]
  • c. 1390 – tiptoe.[1]
  • c. 1395 – verb, to put a tip on.[1]
  • c. 1440 – the slender end; a metal tip.[6]
  • 1702 – tiptop.[1]
  • 1722 – tip of the tongue.[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The pointed or rounded end of something long or slender: the tip of the nose.
  2. A small piece or part fitted to the end of something: a filter tip.

Verb

  1. To put a tip on, or cover the tip of.

Word family

  • tiptoe
  • tiptop
  • fingertip

tip2 tilt

Etymology

It is Middle English typen, tippen “to overturn”,[1][2][5] of uncertain origin,[1][2][3] possibly from a Scandinavian source such as Swedish tippa “to tip, dump”,[2][1] and later perhaps influenced by the word for “end” in phrases such as tip up and tip over.[1] Barnhart notes that the original long vowel argues against early association with that word;[1] the spelling type was in literary use as late as 1632, and tip with a short vowel first appeared in 1581, perhaps from the past tense tipt.[1] Etymonline also suggests a special use of the verb “to tap”.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

To knock down, overturn: probably about 1380 in Barnhart,[1] about 1300 in Etymonline,[2] the 14th century in the OED.[6] A register of 1301 has the nickname Johanna Tippelevedy.[2]

Semantic evolution

To fall over is from the mid-15th century.[2] To tilt or cause to slope is from 1624,[1][6] and to lean from the perpendicular by the 1660s.[2] To empty a cart by tilting it is from 1838,[6] and a place for dumping loads by 1862,[2] hence a rubbish tip.[8] Tip the scales is from 1879, figuratively by 1891,[2] tip one's hand from poker by 1907,[2] and the tipping point by 1972.[2] Tipsy, unsteady from drink, is from 1577.[1]

Timeline

  • c. 1380 – to overturn.[1]
  • mid-15th century – to fall over.[2]
  • 1577 – tipsy.[1]
  • 1624 – to tilt.[1][6]
  • 1838 – to dump.[6]
  • 1862 – a dumping place.[2]
  • 1879 – tip the scales.[2]
  • 1972 – tipping point.[2]

Modern meaning

Verb

  1. To tilt or cause to tilt; to slant.
  2. To overturn or upset, also tip over.
  3. (British) To empty out by tilting; to dump.
  4. To raise a hat in greeting.

Noun

  1. (British) A place where rubbish is dumped; also an untidy place.

Word family

  • tipsy

tip3 tap; gratuity

Etymology

The verb “to strike lightly” is Middle English tippen,[2] of uncertain origin, possibly from Low German tippen “to poke, touch lightly”, related to the word for “end”,[2][1][3] or related to tap.[2] The senses “to give, hand” and “to give a gratuity” are perhaps from it, as in the notion of throwing a coin lightly to another;[2][1] Hoad suggests the whole set may be the same word as the one for “end”, as if “touch with a point”.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

To strike, or to occur suddenly: about 1200 in Etymonline;[2] figuratively in the 13th century in Hoad.[3] A light blow: about 1450 in Barnhart, before 1466 in the OED.[1][6]

Semantic evolution

To strike lightly, to tap, is from the 1560s, in Golding's Ovid.[2][1] To give, hand or pass was thieves' cant from 1610,[1][6] and to give a small present of money to a servant is from 1706–07, in Farquhar's The Beaux' Stratagem.[1][6] The noun, a gratuity, is from 1755,[1][2][6] and a piece of confidential information, a hint, from 1845, with the verb “to give private information” by 1883.[1][2] Tip the wink is from 1676,[6] tipster from 1862,[1] and in cricket to hit a ball lightly from 1816.[6][2] The story that tip stands for “to insure promptitude” is a popular etymology attested from 1909 and rejected by contemporary reviewers.[2]

Timeline

  • c. 1200 – to strike.[2]
  • c. 1450 – a light blow.[1]
  • 1560s – to tap.[2]
  • 1610 – to give, hand (cant).[1]
  • 1706 – to give a gratuity.[1][6]
  • 1755 – noun, a gratuity.[1][2]
  • 1845 – a hint.[1][2]
  • 1862 – tipster.[1]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A small sum of money given for a service, in addition to the price; a gratuity.
  2. A piece of useful advice or a hint.
  3. A piece of inside information, as on a likely winner in a race.
  4. A light blow or tap.

Verb

  1. To give a tip to.
  2. To predict as likely to win or succeed: tipped for the top job.
  3. To strike lightly; to tap.
  4. tip off: to give a warning or secret information to.

Word family

  • tipster
  • tip-off

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  5. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)
  8. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins