Toetip

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The very end of a toe, the part furthest from the foot where the toenail sits
2. The farthest extremity of a toe, especially the point that touches the ground or a shoe first
3. The outermost tip of a toe, the small rounded end at the far side of the foot

Etymology: "Toetip" is a plain compound: "toe" joined to "tip," the pointed end of something. It was first recorded in 1839, and its formation is most likely modeled on "fingertip," the existing English word for the end of a finger. Nothing more dramatic is behind it than that: English speakers had a ready pattern for naming the outermost part of a body part, and "toe" simply took its place beside "finger." The word's interest lies in how little it needed to invent. Where "fingertip" had long been a familiar term, "toetip" filled a gap for the other end of the foot, and the two words have been used side by side ever since in descriptions of touch, balance and movement. Its meaning has stayed literal throughout, with no shift from the concrete to the abstract.