Small pieces cut from plants, usually stems with leaves, that can be planted to grow new plants. Cuttings are a way to reproduce plants without using seeds.
From Middle English 'cutting,' derived from the verb 'cut' plus the suffix '-ing.' The noun form emerged in the 1500s-1600s as gardening and horticulture became more systematic. The word simply refers to pieces that have been cut, extending into the gardening context to mean plant fragments used for propagation.
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