putsch

American  

[pooch] / pʊtʃ /

noun

1. a plotted revolt or attempt to overthrow a government, especially one that depends upon suddenness and speed.

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putsch British  

/ pʊtʃ /

noun

1. a violent and sudden uprising; political revolt, esp a coup d'état

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Etymology

Origin of putsch

1915–20; < German Putsch, originally Swiss German: literally, violent blow, clash, shock; introduced in sense “coup” in standard German through Swiss popular uprisings of the 1830s, especially the Zurich revolt of Sept. 1839

Explanation

When a group rises up and overthrows a government, it is sometimes called a putsch, or — more commonly — a coup. This word shares a pronunciation with an informal term for dog, pooch, but there the similarity ends. A putsch is a quick and dirty overthrow of a government; it tends to be used most often for places that experience a lot of these. Putsch comes from the Swiss German word of the same spelling, which means "revolt," or "a sudden blow or push." Another word for a putsch is a coup d'état.

Example Sentences

In memory of Hitler's 1923 Beer Hall Putsch, an attempted coup against the government of the Weimar Republic, we might well call that Miami event the Kegger Putsch.

From Salon • Oct. 4, 2022

Beer Hall Putsch refers to a failed 1923 Nazi coup attempt that sent Adolf Hitler to prison, where he wrote “Mein Kempf.”

From Seattle Times • Jul. 6, 2022

He served time with him in Landsberg Prison, following the Beer Hall Putsch in 1923.

From BBC • May 9, 2021

Ludendorff flirted with Nazism early on, but abandoned the party after the Beer Hall Putsch.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2020

In 1920, a general strike defeated the attempt of the militarists to seize control of the state in the Kapp Putsch.

From Introduction to Non-Violence by Paullin, Theodore