Tipple \Tip"ple\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Tippled; p. pr. & vb. n. Tippling.]

[From tip a small end, or a word akin to it; cf. Norw. tipla to tipple, to drip, Prov. E. tip, tiff, tift, a draught of liquor, dial. G. zipfeln to eat and drink in small parts. See Tip a point, and cf. Tipsy.]

To drink spirituous or strong liquors habitually; to indulge in the frequent and improper used of spirituous liquors; especially, to drink frequently in small quantities, but without absolute drunkeness.

Few of those who were summoned left their homes, and those few generally found it more agreeable to tipple in alehouses than to pace the streets. --Macaulay.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)