An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Gipfel

by Friedrich Kluge

Gipfel, masculine, ‘summit, top, climax,’ from the equivalent late Middle High German gipfel, masculine, the primary word cannot be discovered; Gipfel is scarcely an intensive form of Giebel; Middle High German gupf, gupfe, ‘point, summit,’ is still less closely allied, and is rather a variant of Kuppe.