clip

English has two words spelled clip: to fasten or hold, originally to embrace, and to cut.^[1][2][3]

Pronunciation

• IPA: /klɪp/^[4]

clip¹ fasten, hold

Etymology

The fastening clip is Middle English clippen, inherited from Old English clyppan (“to embrace, clasp, surround”),^[1][5][2][3] from Proto-Germanic *kluppjaną, cognate with Old Frisian kleppa (“to embrace”);^[5][2] compare Lithuanian glėbys (“armful”).^[5][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

To encircle or embrace: about 725 in Barnhart, about 825 in the OED.^[1][6]

Semantic evolution

Embracing is now archaic or dialectal;^[6][7] to fasten or bind is from the early 14th century,^[5] and to fasten with clips from 1902.^[5] The noun, a device that clips objects, is from 1354, a hook for holding pots,^[1] and is the source of the paper clip (1854).^[5] A holder of cartridges for a gun is from 1901, and a piece of jewellery fastened by a clip from 1937.^[5] Clipboard is from 1907.^[1] The American football penalty clipping preserves the old sense of embracing.^[5]

Timeline

• c. 725 – to embrace.^[1]
• early 14th century – to fasten.^[5]
• 1354 – a hook, a clasp.^[1]
• 1854 – paper clip.^[5]
• 1901 – a cartridge clip.^[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A device for holding things together or in place, such as a paper clip.
2. A piece of jewellery fastened with a clip.
3. A holder for cartridges loaded into a gun.

Verb

1. To fasten with a clip.
2. (archaic) To embrace or hug.

Word family

• clipboard
• paper clip

clip² cut

Etymology

The cutting clip is Middle English clippen, borrowed from Old Norse klippa (“to clip, pinch”),^[1][5][2][3] probably imitative of the sound.^[1][5][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

To cut or shear: probably about 1200, in the Ormulum.^[1][5]

Semantic evolution

To clip coins, shaving metal from their edges, is from about 1400.^[5][2] To shorten words in speaking is from the 1520s,^[5] and to clip someone's wings, to check ambition, from the 1590s.^[5] The verb's long association with swindling led to the clip joint, a place that overcharges (1933, from American Prohibition slang).^[5] To move rapidly is from the 17th century.^[2] The noun meant shears (1465),^[1] and a clipping, something cut off, is from 1324–25;^[1] a short extract from a film is a clip.^[8][9] A sharp blow, as in a clip round the ear, and a speed, as in a fast clip, are informal.^[9][10]

Timeline

• c. 1200 – to cut.^[1]
• c. 1400 – to clip coins.^[5]
• 1520s – to clip words.^[5]
• 1590s – to clip someone's wings.^[5]
• 1933 – clip joint.^[5]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To cut or trim with scissors or shears.
2. To cut short; to curtail.
3. To pronounce words in a short, precise way.
4. (informal) To hit sharply.

Noun

1. A short extract from a film or broadcast.
2. (informal) A sharp blow.
3. (informal) A rapid pace: at a good clip.

Word family

• clipper
• clippers
• clipping
• clip joint

Related words

• globe

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)
8. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
10. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins