Apex
, the topmost height, really means the pointed olive-wood spike on the top of the cap of a Roman priest. The cap fitted close to the head and was fastened under the chin by a fillet. It was applied also to the crest or spike of a helmet. The word now means the summit or tiptop.
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Entry taken from
Dictionary of Phrase and Fable,
edited by the Rev. E. Cobham Brewer, LL.D. and revised in 1895.