clipper Hear it!

clipper definition

clip·per (klipər)

noun

  1. a person who cuts, trims, etc.
  2. a tool for cutting or trimming a barber's clippers
  3. Etymology: for sense, see cutter

    1. ☆ a sharp-bowed, narrow-beamed sailing ship (c. 1830-54) built for great speed
    2. a modified form of this with less speed and greater cargo capacity
  4. a horse, sled, etc. regarded as very swift
  5. Electronics a circuit designed to limit the amplitude of an output signal to a preset level

Etymology: ME < clippen, clip; senses 3 & 4 infl. (?) by MDu klepper, orig., swift horse < LowG kleppen, to sound like hoofbeats (echoic)

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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