Top (?), n. [CF. OD. dop, top, OHG., MNG., & dial. G. topf; perhaps
akin to G. topf a pot.] 1. A child's toy, commonly in the form of a
conoid or pear, made to spin on its point, usually by drawing off a
string wound round its surface or stem, the motion being sometimes
continued by means of a whip.
2. (Rope Making) A plug, or conical block of wood, with longitudital
grooves on its surface, in which the strands of the rope slide in the
process of twisting.
Top (?), n. [AS. top; akin to OFries. top a tuft, D. top top, OHG. zopf
end, tip, tuft of hair, G. zopf tuft of hair, pigtail, top of a tree,
Icel. toppr a tuft of hair, crest, top, Dan. top, Sw. topp pinnacle,
top; of uncertain origin. Cf. Tuft.] 1. The highest part of anything;
the upper end, edge, or extremity; the upper side or surface; summit;
apex; vertex; cover; lid; as, the top of a spire; the top of a house;
the top of a mountain; the top of the ground.
The star that bids the shepherd fold, Now the top of heaven doth hold.
Milton.