top English · revision 1807

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 1000 (Ælfric)|origins=gem-pro *tuppaz}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /tɒp/ ''(UK)''; /tɑːp/ ''(US)''^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|top]], [[inh|ang|top|t=summit, crest; tuft of hair]],^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) from [[gem-pro|*tuppaz]] (Hoad: [[m|gem-pro|*toppaz]]),^(Barnhart 1995)^(Hoad 1986) of unknown origin.^(Barnhart 1988) Its cognates are [[ofs|topp|t=tuft]], [[nl|top|t=summit, crest]], [[goh|zopf|t=summit, tuft]] (modern [[de|Zopf|t=pigtail, plait]]) and [[non|toppr|t=tuft of hair]].^(Barnhart 1995)^(SOED 2002) Etymonline finds no certain relatives outside Germanic except Romance words borrowed from it, among them [[fro|top|t=tuft, forelock]], source of [[toupee]];^(Etymonline) Merriam-Webster suggests a link with Old English [[m|ang|tæppa]] ([[tap]]).^(MWU 2024) The spinning toy called a ''top'' is also late Old English (about 1060), probably a special use of the same word,^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) though the Shorter Oxford and Hoad call its origin unknown.^(SOED 2002)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The highest point or part of something (about 1000, in Ælfric's ''Grammar''); in Old English also a tuft or crest.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Weekley thought the sense “tuft of hair” might be the oldest, and the OED records ''top'' for the hair on the crown of the head from about 1205.^(Weekley 1921)^(OED 1989) Etymonline notes that few Indo-European languages have such a general word for any upper part or surface.^(Etymonline) Later uses include the platform at the head of a ship's mast (15th century),^(Hoad 1986) the leaves of a root crop (late 14th century),^(Etymonline) the highest position (1620s) and the best part of something (1660s).^(Etymonline) The adjective is recorded from 1593 in Shakespeare's ''3 Henry VI'' and meant “first in rank” by the 1640s.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) The verb first meant “to cut the top off” (before 1300); “to put a top on” is from 1581 and “to surpass” from 1582.^(Barnhart 1995) In criminal slang ''to top'' meant “to hang” from 1718.^(Dalzell 2013)^(GDoS) ''Over the top'' comes from the First World War, when troops climbed over the parapet of a trench to attack, and later came to mean “excessive”, shortened to ''OTT'' in the early 1980s.^(Cresswell 2021)^(Flavell 1992)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1000 – Old English ''top'', the highest part.^(Barnhart 1995)^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1060 – a spinning toy.^(Barnhart 1995)^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1205 – the hair on the crown of the head.^(OED 1989)

+ * before 1300 – verb, to cut off the top.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1581 – verb, to put a top on.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1582 – verb, to surpass.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1593 – adjective, uppermost.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1620s – the highest position or rank.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1718 – (slang) to execute by hanging.^(Dalzell 2013)

+ * 1843 – ''top of the morning''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1942 – ''top dollar''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1945 – ''top ten'' in popular music.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The highest or uppermost point, part or surface.^(AHD)^(COED 2004)

+ # A lid, cap or cover.^(AHD)^(COED 2004)

+ # A [[garment]] for the upper part of the body.^(AHD)^(COED 2004)

+ # The highest rank or position: ''at the top of the class''.^(COED 2004)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The highest degree: ''at the top of her voice''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The leaves and stems of a plant grown for its root.^(AHD)^(COED 2004)

+ # A platform at the head of a ship's mast.^(AHD)^(COED 2004)

+ # A toy that spins on a point.^(AHD)^(COED 2004)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # At or forming the top; highest.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Highest in rank, degree or quality: ''top marks''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To provide with a top or cover.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To be more than; to [[exceed]] or surpass.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To be first in: ''topped the charts''.^(AHD)

+ # To cut off the top of (a plant).^(AHD)^(MWU 2024)

+ # ''(British slang)'' To kill.^(SOED 2002)^(Dalzell 2013)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[topped]]

+ * [[untopped]]

+ * [[topcoat]]

+ * [[top-end]]

+ * [[top-level]]

+ * [[topmost]]

+ * [[top-shelf]]

+ * [[topsoil]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[tip]]

+ * [[toupee]]

+ * [[tap]]

+ * [[topple]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}