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
- A device for holding things together or in place, such as a paper clip.
- A piece of jewellery fastened with a clip.
- A holder for cartridges loaded into a gun.
Verb
- To fasten with a clip.
- (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
- To cut or trim with scissors or shears.
- To cut short; to curtail.
- To pronounce words in a short, precise way.
- (informal) To hit sharply.
Noun
- A short extract from a film or broadcast.
- (informal) A sharp blow.
- (informal) A rapid pace: at a good clip.
Word family
- clipper
- clippers
- clipping
- clip joint
Related words
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
- ^ a b c d e f g h Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
- ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ 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
- ^ a b Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ 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)
- ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
- ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins