English
topshell
From top + shell.
Proto-Germanic *tuppaz ‘braid’
Proto-West Germanic *topp ‘top’
Old English topp ‘top’
Middle English top ‘the peak of a mountain or other landform’
English top
Proto-Indo-European *(s)kelH- ‘to cut, split’
Proto-Germanic *skaljō ‘shell, husk’
Proto-West Germanic *skallju
Old English sċiell
Middle English schelle
English shell
Today it means
noun A shell shaped like a toy top, found principally in the family Trochidae of marine gastropod mollusks or top snails.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “topshell”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / topshell