coup

¹

[koo]

noun

plural

coups 

1. a highly successful, unexpected stroke, act, or move; a clever action or accomplishment.

2. (among the Plains Indians of North America) a brave or reckless deed performed in battle by a single warrior, as touching or striking an enemy warrior without sustaining injury oneself.

3. coup d'état.

coup

²

[kohp, koop]

verb (used with or without object)

Scot.

1. to overturn; upset.

coup

¹

/ kuː /

noun

1. a brilliant and successful stroke or action

2. short for coup d'état

coup

²

/ kaʊp /

verb

1. to turn or fall over

noun

1. a rubbish tip

coup

³

/ kaʊp /

verb

1. to barter; traffic; deal

coup

1. In politics, an abbreviation for coup d'état.

Word History and Origins

Origin of coup¹

First recorded in 1640–50; from French: literally, “a blow, stroke,” Old French colp, from Late Latin colpus, from Latin colaphus, from Greek kólaphos

Origin of coup²

First recorded in 1350–1400; likely originally a variant of cope

Word History and Origins

Origin of coup¹

C18: from French: blow, from Latin colaphus blow with the fist, from Greek kolaphos

Origin of coup²

C15: perhaps identical with obsolete cope to strike; see _cope ¹

Origin of coup³

C14: from Old Norse kaupa to buy

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. count coup, (among Plains Indians of North America)

   1. to perform a coup.

   2. to recount or relate the coups one has performed.

Example Sentences

The coups were followed by similar military putsches in Burkina Faso and Niger.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The two warring rivals had been allies - coming to power together in a coup in 2021 - but fell out over an internationally backed plan to move towards civilian rule.

Read more on BBC

RFA also recently won two Edward R. Murrow Awards, a US prize for broadcasting, for a series on young people in Myanmar coping with the aftermath of the 2021 coup.

Read more on Barron's

Sprawling compounds where internet tricksters target people with romance and business cons have thrived along Myanmar's loosely governed border during its civil war, sparked by a 2021 coup.

Read more on Barron's

On Sunday, the opposition group made up of Gbagbo and Thiam's parties denounced the election as a "civilian coup d'etat," saying they would not recognise Ouattara as a validly elected leader.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• action 
• overthrow 
• plot 
• revolution 

When To Use

Why is coup trending?

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.https://twitter.com/SenWarren/status/1346947575975272448https://twitter.com/MaryLTrump/status/1346963110041505794https://twitter.com/RepPressley/status/1346937329928302593