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Clipper Ships The name Clipper is applied to a ship to indicate that it is a very fast sailer. The term, probably derived from the verb clip (to move quickly), was first used in the United States soon after the War of 1812 and was applied to the type of vessel formerly described as Virginia built or of pilot boat construction. After the 1830s the term clipper was adopted to mean any fast ship. The Clipper …

… maintain, clippers commonly lasted well. Some record-holding clipper ships had an active life of 23 to 48 years. The clipper era ended when the transoceanic carrying trade was affected by the reduced freight rates made possible by the introduction of the steamship. Thereafter only sailing vessels capable of carrying very large freight cargoes could be operated profitably. Contributed by: Howard I. Chapelle "Clipper," Microsoft (R) Encarta. Copyright (c) 1994 Microsoft Corporation. Copyright (c) 1994 Funk & Wagnall's Corporation.