cliche
UK[ˈkliːʃeɪ]US[kliˈʃeɪ]
n
a phrase or opinion that is overused and betrays a lack of original thought.
n
a very predictable or unoriginal thing or person.
Etymology
the word 'cliche' entered english in the 19th century directly from french, where it was the past participle of the verb 'clicher', meaning 'to stereotype'. this printing term originated as an onomatopoeia, imitating the clicking sound made when molten type metal struck a surface to create a printing plate. the conceptual leap from a physical printing duplicate to a hackneyed phrase is elegant: just as a stereotype plate produces endless identical copies, a cliche is a thought or expression endlessly reproduced without variation. thus, a term born from the sound of mechanical reproduction came to signify a lack of originality in language and ideas.
Analysis
this word is a loanword from french and is not productively segmented using english morphemes.
Examples
the politician's speech was full of empty cliches about hope and change.
the romantic comedy's plot was a cliche from start to finish.
he dismissed the criticism as a tired cliche.