A bent wire or plastic fastener used to hold sheets of paper together temporarily.
A modern compound from 'paper' + 'clip,' but 'clip' has a surprising origin from Old English 'clyppan' meaning 'to embrace' or 'to hug.' The same root gave us 'clipper ships' (fast-hugging vessels) and 'eclipse' (moon hugging the sun). So paperclips literally 'hug' your documents together.
Every paperclip gives your documents a tiny metal hug! The word 'clip' originally meant to embrace or hold close, which is exactly what that bent wire does to your papers. It's the same 'hugging' concept that named clipper ships for how they 'embraced' the wind.
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