Where does “top tube” come from?

top tube (English) comes from English top, from Middle English top, from Old English topp, from Proto-West Germanic *topp, from Proto-Germanic tuppaz, from Proto-Indo-European dumb- — tail, rod, staff, pole, penis; tail, rod, staff,...

top tube (English): The horizontal tube of the diamond frame of a bicycle

Definitions

  1. The horizontal tube of the diamond frame of a bicycle

Ancestry of “top tube”, step by step

top tube traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English top

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishtopThe highest or uppermost part of something; A...
2Middle EnglishtopThe summit or top of something, especially a...
3Old Englishtopptop, summit (of something)
4Proto-West Germanic*topptop, summit, crest
5Proto-Germanictuppaztuft, plait; top, summit
6Proto-Indo-Europeandumb-tail, rod, staff, pole, penis; tail, rod, staff,...

via English tube

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishtubeAnything that is hollow and cylindrical in shape;...
2Middle Frenchtubeconduit; canal; pipe
3Latintubustube, pipe; trumpet used at sacrifices
4LatintubaA long trumpet over 1 meter in length; tube
Every word from Proto-Indo-European dumb-Every word from Proto-Germanic tuppazEvery word from Proto-West Germanic *topp
top tube — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer