atop

Etymology

From a- (“on”) + top.

prep

1. On the top of.
   He sat atop the mountain, waiting for the end of the world.
   For example, when trailers containing new automobiles were first piggybacked two areas of potential damage became evident: (1) diesel locomotive exhaust left a film of oil on the new autos; and (2) auto windshields could be scarred or cracked by the metal-tipped "tell-tales" which warn men atop trains of oncoming bridges or tunnels. 1960 November, David Morgan, “"Piggyback"—U.S. success story”, in Trains Illustrated, page 684
   A virtue is made out of a necessity, with the child feeling far more atop and master of his oddness, his behavior now deliberate or even clever. 1966, The Minnesota Review, volume 6, page 242
   "And other things," she echoed, nodding slowly and resting her body a little more atop him again. 2006, Dewey Lambdin, The Gun Ketch, page 48
   2014, Paul Salopek, Blessed. Cursed. Claimed., National Geographic (December 2014)https://web.archive.org/web/20150212214621/http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2014/12/pilgrim-roads/salopek-text “Monotheism was born here,” Goren tells me atop a cliff overlooking the sheet of iron-colored water.
2. On the top, with "of".

adv

1. (literary or archaic) On, to, or at the top.
   He has a handsome face, still bearded in the midst of a mostly clean-shaving nation, and with the white hairs prevalent on the cheeks and temples; his head is bald atop, though hardly from the uneasiness of wearing a crown. 1909, William Dean Howells, Seven English Cities, Kessinger Publishing, published 2004, page 46
   The envoy found the French king playing the part of horse while his young son rode atop. 1978, James C. Humes, Speaker's Treasury of Anecdotes About the Famous, Harper & Row, published 1978, page 102
   Everything large or small is carried atop out of habit as much as necessity, like a delightful but defiant challenge to the laws of gravity. 1985, Wade Davis, The Serpent and the Rainbow, Simon & Schuster, page 52