coup

On January 6, 2021, interest in the word coup spiked—corresponding with a 962% increase in search interest on Dictionary.com—after a mob of supporters of Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol building on the day Congress was set to certify the electoral vote count to confirm Joe Biden’s presidential election victory. Some journalists, political analysts, and politicians used the word coup to describe the events that occurred at the nation’s capitol.

The word coup, in this context, is short for coup d’état, which literally means “stroke of state” in French. Due to its French origin, the final p is not pronounced, making the word sound identical to the word coo.

The violence at the Capitol today was an attempted coup and act of insurrection egged on by a corrupt President to overthrow our democracy.

— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) January 6, 2021

Every seditionist House member who supported and encouraged this attempted coup needs to be expelled.

— Mary L Trump (@MaryLTrump) January 6, 2021

Our democracy is literally under assault.

Donald J. Trump incited this violence and is directly responsible for this attempted coup.

He must be impeached and removed from office immediately.

— Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (@RepPressley) January 6, 2021

Those discussing the events of January 6 also used other strong words to describe what happened, such as sedition, insurrection, and (domestic) terrorism. The terms coup and coup d’état narrowly refer to an illegal or forceful change of government, as opposed to an uprising in general. A coup may be attempted with the intention of removing a single political leader, rather than instituting an entirely new form of government, for example. Sedition refers to incitement or promotion of rebellion against the government, while insurrection refers to an active rebellion or uprising against the government. Despite the differences in their meanings, terms like sedition, insurrection, and coup are sometimes used in the discussion of the same events. For example, a coup may be the result of an insurrection inspired by sedition.

More broadly, terrorism involves the use of violence or threats of violence—especially against civilians—to achieve some political aim. Domestic terrorism specifically refers to acts of terrorism against one’s fellow citizens. By contrast, the word insurrection typically refers to acts that target the government, rather than civilians. However, some acts of insurrection may also be considered acts of terrorism.

Some discussing the events of January 6 described them as having the atmosphere of a banana republic, which refers to an authoritarian country known for exploiting its citizens for the benefit of wealthy elites and foreign corporations. (Use of the term is often criticized due to disparaging associations with Central American countries.)