coup
1[ koo ]
/ ku /
noun, plural coups [kooz; French koo] /kuz; French ku/.
a highly successful, unexpected stroke, act, or move; a clever action or accomplishment.
(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.
RELATED CONTENT
RELATED WORDS
action, plot, revolution, overthrow, stratagem, accomplishment, upset, stroke, exploit, stunt, deed, feat
Nearby words
- county farm,
- county home,
- county palatine,
- county seat,
- county town,
- coup d'essai,
- coup d'etat,
- coup d'oeil,
- coup d'état,
- coup de foudre
Idioms
- to perform a coup.
- to recount or relate the coups one has performed.
count coup, (among Plains Indians of North America)
Origin of coup
11640–50; < French: literally, blow, stroke, Old French colp < Late Latin colpus, Latin colaphus < Greek kólaphos
coup
2[ kohp, koop ]
/ koʊp, kup /
verb (used with or without object) Scot.
overturn; upset.
Origin of coup
21350–1400; Middle English coupe to pay for < Old Norse kaupa to buy, barter; cognate with Old English cēapian, German kaufen. See cheap
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for coup
coup
1/ (kuː) /
noun
a brilliant and successful stroke or action
short for coup d'état
Word Origin for coup
C18: from French: blow, from Latin colaphus blow with the fist, from Greek kolaphos
verb
to turn or fall over
noun
a rubbish tip
Word Origin for coup
C15: perhaps identical with obsolete cope to strike; see cope 1
verb
Scot to barter; traffic; deal
Word Origin for coup
C14: from Old Norse kaupa to buy
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
coup
c.1400, from Old French coup, colp "a blow, strike" (12c.), from Medieval Latin colpus, from Vulgar Latin colapus, from Latin colaphus "a cuff, box on the ear," from Greek kolaphos "a blow, slap." Meaning "a sudden decisive act" is 1852, short for coup d'etat. In Modern French the word is a workhorse, describing everything from a pat on the back to a whipping, and is used as well of thunder, gusts of wind, gunshots, and chess moves.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
coup
[ (kooh) ]
In politics, an abbreviation for coup d'état.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.