cut-and-paste
UK[ˌkʌt ən ˈpeɪst]US[ˌkʌt ən ˈpeɪst]
adj
(of text, data, or an image) copied from one source and inserted into another.
n
the action or technique of copying text, data, or an image and inserting it elsewhere.
Morpheme Breakdown
cut
and
paste
cut
to sever
and
conjunction
paste
to adhere
Etymology
The compound "cut-and-paste" is a modern formation derived from the literal, manual process of editing physical documents. Its components are fundamental English verbs: "cut," with ancient Germanic roots related to division, and "paste," which entered English via French and Latin from a Greek word for a moist mixture, evolving to mean an adhesive. The conjunction "and" links these sequential actions. With the advent of computing, the term was metaphorically adopted to describe the digital editing function, where data is removed ("cut") from one location and attached ("pasted") into another, perfectly mirroring the physical procedure's logic.
Analysis
Structure: cut (to sever) + and (conjunction) + paste (to adhere)
cut: From Middle English cutten, of uncertain origin, possibly from Old Norse or a Germanic base. Functional role: verb root meaning to sever or divide.
and: From Old English and, ond, a conjunction meaning 'also, in addition'. Functional role: coordinating conjunction linking the two actions.
paste: From Old French paste (dough, paste), from Late Latin pasta (dough, pastry cake), from Greek pastē (barley porridge). Functional role: verb root meaning to stick or adhere.
Examples
The report was just a cut-and-paste job from various websites.
Use the cut-and-paste function to move the paragraph to a new section.
She taught the children simple cut-and-paste crafts.