Emily Dickinson Lexicon
Definition for TOP
TOP, n. [Sax. top; D. and Dan. top; Sw. topp; W. tob or top; topiaw, to top, to form a crest.]
- The highest part of any thing; the upper end, edge or extremity; as, the top of a tree; the top of a spire; the top of a house; the top of a mountain.
- Surface; upper side; as, the top of the ground.
- The highest place; as, the top of preferment. Locke. Swift.
- The highest person; the chief. Shak.
- The utmost degree. The top of my ambition is to contribute to that work. Pope. If you attain the top of your desires in fame. Pope.
- The highest rank. Each boy strives to be at the top of his class, or at the top of the school.
- The crown or upper surface of the head. Shak.
- The hair on the crown of the head; the forelock. Shak.
- The head of a plant. Watts.
- [G. topf.] An inverted conoid which children play with by whirling it on its point, continuing the motion with a whip. Shak.
- In ship-building, a sort of platform, surrounding the head of the lower mast and projecting on all sides. It serves to extend the shrouds, by which means they more effectually support the mast; and in ships of war, the top furnishes a convenient stand for swivels and small arms to annoy the enemy. Cyc.
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