a-tiptoeadv.
/əˈtɪptəʊ/ On tiptoe, on the tips of one's toes (either to raise oneself higher, or to move about noiselessly).
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > posture > action of standing up or rising > [adverb] > on tiptoe
on or upon tiptoec1440
a-tiptoe1576
tiptoe1597
tippy-toe1901
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > secrecy, concealment > stealthy action, stealth > stealthy movement > [adverb] > on tiptoe
on or upon tiptoec1440
a-tiptoe1576
tiptoe1597
1576 R. Scot Perfite Platforme of Hoppe Garden (rev. ed.) 45 They must stand longwyse, as it were a tiptoe.
1647 R. Stapleton tr. Juvenal Sixteen Satyrs 98 She sure must stand a-tipto for a kisse.
1751 Mem. Lady of Quality in T. Smollett Peregrine Pickle III. lxxxviii. 118 He stood a tiptoe to view himself in the glass.
1868 ‘G. Eliot’ Spanish Gypsy iii. 224 Moving a-tiptoe, silent as the elves.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1885; most recently modified version published online March 2021).
> as lemmas
a-tiptoe
c. a-tiptoe = on tiptoe: see a-tiptoe adv.
<
adv.1576as lemmas
- operationalizable
- operationalization
- operationalize
- operationalized
- operationalizing
- operationally
- operationcrew
- operationism
- operationisms
- operationist
- operationists
- operations
- operations research
- operations researcher
- operations room
- operations section
- operations table
- operations-crew
- operationscrew
- operatise
- operatised
- operatises
- operatising
- operatist
- operative