What does clipt mean?
"Clipt" is an archaic form of the past tense and past participle of the verb "clip," which means to cut, shear, or trim something — whether wool from sheep, hair, hedges, or paper. It can also function as an adjective describing something that has been cut short or shorn close. In earlier centuries, "clipt" was a common spelling alongside "clipped," and it appears frequently in classic English poetry and prose, where it lent verses a compact, rhythmic quality. Today the word has largely fallen out of ordinary use, surviving in regional dialects and in quotations from older literature. Readers who meet "clipt" in a poem by Milton or a country novel should understand it simply as the equivalent of "clipped." Its enduring interest lies less in current utility than in what it reveals about how English spellings and verb forms have shifted over time, with regularized forms gradually displacing older variants.
Archaic or dialectal past tense and past participle of "clip": to cut, shear, or trim with scissors or shears.
"They clipt the wool from the sheep at the start of summer."
Almost entirely replaced by "clipped" in modern usage; encountered mainly in older literature.
Cut short, shorn, or trimmed close.
"He wore his hair clipt close to the scalp."
Rare today; carries an archaic or literary tone.
Before "clipped" won the spelling war, poets like Milton wrote "clipt" — a single letter's difference between modern prose and seventeenth-century verse.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of clipt
The word derives from the Old Norse verb "klippa," meaning to cut or clip, which was adopted into Middle English as "clippen." The form "clipt" arose as a past tense and past participle using the dental suffix typical of weak verbs. Over time, the doubled-consonant form "clipped" became the standard spelling, leaving "clipt" as a chiefly historical variant found in older texts and dialect speech.
Related word forms
How clipt is actually used
"Clipt" is now rare in everyday English; it survives mainly in older literature, poetry, and some regional British dialects. Modern writers almost always use "clipped" instead. When encountered, it carries an archaic or deliberately literary flavor.
Easily confused with clipt
"Clipped" is the standard modern past tense and participle of "clip," while "clipt" is an older, now chiefly literary or dialectal form of the same verb.