From the now dated noun Knips (“flip; dab”), itself derived with the northern suffix -s from the verb Middle Low German knippen (“to flip; to slap; to wink”). Compare Dutch knippen. This verb may plausibly be thought to be derived from Middle Low German knīpen (“to squeeze”) (see kneifen), but onomatopoeia has certainly played a role in the development of this root.
knipsen (weak, third-person singular present knipst, past tense knipste, past participle geknipst, auxiliary haben)
| infinitive | knipsen | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| present participle | knipsend | ||||
| past participle | geknipst | ||||
| auxiliary | haben | ||||
| indicative | subjunctive | ||||
| singular | plural | singular | plural | ||
| present | ich knipse | wir knipsen | i | ich knipse | wir knipsen |
| du knipst | ihr knipst | du knipsest | ihr knipset | ||
| er knipst | sie knipsen | er knipse | sie knipsen | ||
| preterite | ich knipste | wir knipsten | ii | ich knipste1 | wir knipsten1 |
| du knipstest | ihr knipstet | du knipstest1 | ihr knipstet1 | ||
| er knipste | sie knipsten | er knipste1 | sie knipsten1 | ||
| imperative | knips (du) knipse (du) |
knipst (ihr) | |||
1Rare except in very formal contexts; alternative in würde normally preferred.