A small offered piece of help, and a sum given beyond what was owed. Both are given freely rather than required.
English tip, in the sense of a small piece of help or a sum given beyond what is owed, entered as slang of obscure origin; the popular story that it stands for a phrase about insuring promptness is a later invention with no historical support.
A small offered piece of help, and a sum given beyond what was owed. Both are given freely, in a sense the word's own murky origin has never settled.