Etymology

clipper

clip·per
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Today it means: Anything or anyone that clips. Full definition →

Middle English clipper ← Middle Dutch klepper
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clipper · noun, verb1

  1. Middle Dutch · derived fromklepper“swift horse”
  2. Middle English · inherited fromclipper
  3. English todayclipper

From Middle English clipper, equivalent to clip (“cut, shorten”) + -er (suffix forming agent nouns). The type of sailing ship is probably also from clip, in the sense of “move or run rapidly”. Perhaps influenced by Middle Dutch klepper (“swift horse”), from kleppen (“to clap”), which is onomatopoeic.

Clipper · proper noun2

  1. German · derived fromKlipper
  2. English todayClipper

Americanized spelling of German Klipper.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.