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topper

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Etymology and origin of the English word topper

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1602 J. Darrell
Ultimate origins
Old English topEnglish -er
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
English top
English topper
From the same root
English atop ← top
English desktop ← top
English hilltop ← top
English rooftop ← top

Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˈtɒpə/[1]
  • US: /ˈtɑpɚ/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English top + -er,[2][3][4][5] as an agent noun of the verb top,[6][2] partly also from the noun.[2][3] Etymonline explains the sense "the best" as one who or that which tops the others.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

A person who cuts off the tops of trees, bushes or weeds: 1602, in J. Darrell's Replie.[2] Merriam-Webster's first date for its first sense, one that puts on or removes tops, is 1688,[4] and Dictionary.com dates the word to 1665–75.[5]

Semantic evolution

The sense "an outstanding person or thing" was colloquial from 1691 in the OED,[2] from 1699 in Green's Dictionary of Slang,[7] and Etymonline dates it to 1709 as originally slang.[6] In the late 17th century a topper was also a cheat at dice.[2] From 1785 it was slang for a blow on the head,[2][7] and in underworld slang, from 1821, for a hat, which by 1829 could be a top hat.[7][3] In Yorkshire a topper was a long piece of larch fir.[8] The 20th century added a woman's short loose coat,[3][4] a remark or joke that surpasses everything before it (1933),[2][3] and in US military slang a first sergeant (1917).[2] A separate New Zealand slang word topper, an informer, recorded from 1950, comes from another verb top, to inform on.[2]

Timeline

  • 1602 – a person who cuts off the tops of trees or weeds.[2]
  • 1671 – a cheat at dice (obsolete by 1717).[2]
  • 1691 – an exceptionally good person or thing.[2][7]
  • 1785 – a blow to the head.[2][7]
  • 1821 – a hat; a top hat from 1829.[7]
  • 1837 – a horse or rider good at jumping fences.[2]
  • 1917 – in US military slang, a first sergeant.[2]
  • 1933 – a remark or action that surpasses all before it.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A top hat.[3][4][5]
  2. Something that tops or caps what has gone before, especially a joke or remark: Her final story was the topper of the evening.[2][3][4]
  3. (dated, colloquial) An excellent person or thing.[2][3][5]
  4. A person or machine that puts tops on or cuts tops off something, as from crops.[4][2][3]
  5. A woman's short, loose, lightweight coat.[3][4][5]
  6. (US) A cover fitted over the back of a pickup truck.[3]
  7. (archaic slang) A blow on the head.[3][2]

Word family

  • cartopper

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b c d e Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  6. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  7. ^ a b c d e f Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
  8. ^ 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)
Cite this entry

“Topper.” Etymologically, 2 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/topper. Accessed 2 Nov. 2026.

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