How did clipper ships get their name

Clipper ships were so named because they were fast sailors, a term derived from to "clip", that is getting as much propulsion as possible from the available wind. They represented the utmost evolution and refinement in the design of sail ships. The name was adopted to mean fast ship by the 1830s.

When these vessels of a new model were built, which were intended to "clip" over the waves rather than plough through them, the improved type of craft became known as "clippers" because of their speed. In England the nautical term "clipper" appeared a little later.