top of the morning

phrase

"top-of-the-morning" is a 15-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“top of the morning” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a phrase - the kind of word writers most often double-check.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
18
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A generic, cheerful greeting said to someone in the morning.

Key facts for top of the morning
PropertyValue
Headwordtop of the morning
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechPhrase
Letters18
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “top of the morning” sits in English frequency

top of the morning falls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for top of the morning is 18 letters long, classified as a phrase. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "A generic, cheerful greeting said to someone in the morning.".

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for top of the morning, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: A working-class phrase once popular throughout the British Isles, possibly in reference to cream rising in milk. It has been revived into popular consciousness, and is associated with Irishmen, by the film Darby O'Gill and the Little People (1959). The correct English form is top of the morning, spelled T-O-P- -O-F- -T-H-E- -M-O-R-N-I-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    A generic, cheerful greeting said to someone in the morning.

Etymology

A working-class phrase once popular throughout the British Isles, possibly in reference to cream rising in milk. It has been revived into popular consciousness, and is associated with Irishmen, by the film Darby O'Gill and the Little People (1959).

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "top of the morning"?
"top of the morning" is spelled T-O-P- -O-F- -T-H-E- -M-O-R-N-I-N-G.
What does "top of the morning" mean?
As a phrase, "top of the morning" means: A generic, cheerful greeting said to someone in the morning.
What is the origin of the word "top of the morning"?
A working-class phrase once popular throughout the British Isles, possibly in reference to cream rising in milk. It has been revived into popular consciousness, and is associated with Irishmen, by the film Darby O'Gill and the Little People (1959). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “top of the morning”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is T-O-P- -O-F- -T-H-E- -M-O-R-N-I-N-G - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list