Small pieces cut off from something larger, such as newspaper articles, hair, or plant material. Also refers to a collection of press articles about a particular topic or person.
From Middle English clippen meaning 'to cut,' from Old Norse klippa (to cut, clip). The word evolved from the basic action of cutting to refer specifically to the small pieces that result from cutting. The media sense of 'press clippings' developed in the 19th century with the growth of newspapers.
Before the internet, 'clipping services' were actual businesses that would read through hundreds of newspapers and magazines to find mentions of their clients, then physically cut out and mail these articles. This labor-intensive process has been largely replaced by Google Alerts and other digital monitoring tools.
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