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Origin and history of topper

topper(n.)

"the best" in reference to anything, 1709, originally slang, agent noun from top (v.), as though "one who or that which 'tops' the others." Also compare tops.

also from 1709

Entries linking to topper

top(v.)

c. 1300, toppen, "cut or pull the top off (the hair); shave (the head);" from top (n.1). From c. 1500 in reference to a tree or plant. The sense of "put a top on" is from 15c. (implied in topping).

The meanings "be higher or greater than; rise above, surmount" are by 1580s. In Middle English the verb also had a sense of "fight, wrestle, struggle, rebel." The meaning "reach the top of" is by c. 1600.

In dyeing, "wash over with a different shade or color," by 1856. The meaning "strike (a ball) towards its top" in baseball, etc., is by 1881. Related: Topped; topping.

To top off is literally "to finish completely" (by putting on the uppermost part); the figurative colloquial use is by 1836. To top off in the sense of "fill up, add more to to bring to fullness" is attested from 1917.

tops(n.)

"the best," 1935, American English colloquial, from top (n.1), which is attested from 1660s as "highest example, type, or representation." Top (adj.) "prime, good, capital" was provincial English and Scottish in 19c.

It was short for top-boots from 16c.; also in various 19c. trade senses, such as "buttons plated on the showing side only" (as opposed to all-overs).

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    Trends of topper

    adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/ with a 7-year moving average; ngrams are probably unreliable.

    More to explore

    stovepipe
    also stove-pipe, 1690s, "hothouse pipe," from stove (n.) + pipe (n.). As a metal pipe for conducting smoke, gases, etc. from a stove to a chimney, by 1796. Stove-pipe hat, as a type of hat for men, is by 1849, American English, so called for being tall and cylindrical like a stov
    beaver
    "large amphibious quadruped rodent of the genus Castor," Old English beofor, befer (earlier bebr), from Proto-Germanic *bebruz (source also of Old Saxon bibar, Old Norse bjorr, Middle Dutch and Dutch bever, Low German bever, Old High German bibar, German Biber), from PIE *bhebhru
    best
    Old English beste, reduced by assimilation of -t- from earlier Old English betst "of the highest quality or standing, first, in the best manner." This originally was the superlative of bōt "remedy, reparation" (Middle English bote "advantage, help, profit"), a word now surviving
    individual
    early 15c., "one and indivisible, inseparable" (with reference to the Trinity), from Medieval Latin individualis, from Latin individuus "indivisible," from in- "not, opposite of" (see in- (1)) + dividuus "divisible," from dividere "divide" (see divide (v.)). Original sense now ob
    wit
    "mental capacity," Old English wit, witt, more commonly gewit "understanding, intellect, sense; knowledge, consciousness, conscience," from Proto-Germanic *wit- (source also of Old Saxon wit, Old Norse vit, Danish vid, Swedish vett, Old Frisian wit, Old High German wizzi "knowled
    mortal
    late 14c., "deadly, destructive to life; causing or threatening death" (of illness, poisons, wounds, etc.); also, of persons or the body, "doomed to die, subject to death;" from Old French mortel "destined to die; deserving of death" and directly from Latin mortalis "subject to d
    humor
    mid-14c., "fluid or juice of an animal or plant," from Old North French humour "liquid, dampness; (medical) humor" (Old French humor, umor; Modern French humeur), from Latin umor "body fluid" (also humor, by false association with humus "earth"); related to umere "be wet, moist,"
    hat
    Old English hæt "hat, head covering" (variously glossing Latin pileus, galerus, mitra, tiara), from Proto-Germanic *hattuz "hood, cowl" (source also of Frisian hat, Old Norse hattr, höttr "a hood or cowl"), of uncertain etymology; it has been compared with Lithuanian kuodas "tuft
    somebody
    c. 1300 as two words, from 16c. as one word, "indeterminate person, person unnamed or unknown," from some + body. Used in place of the name of a person whose name is to be unspoken, by c. 1600. The meaning "important person, person of consequence" is from 1560s. Related: Somebodi
    soul
    "A substantial entity believed to be that in each person which lives, feels, thinks, and wills" [Century Dictionary], Middle English soule, from Old English sawol "spiritual and emotional part of a person, animate existence; life, living being," from Proto-Germanic *saiwalō (sour

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