Etymology

cliché

cli·ché

Today it means: Something, most often a phrase or expression, that is overused or used outside its original context, so that its original impact and meaning are lost. A trite saying; a platitude. Full definition →

First used 19th c.French cliché
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The story

  1. Frenchclicher
  2. Frenchcliché
  3. English todaycliché

Borrowed from French cliché.

First known use, by meaning

  • from 19th c. Something, most often a phrase or expression, that is overused or used outside its original context, so that its original impact and meaning are lost. A trite saying; a platitude.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.