coup de poing

[ French kooduh -pwan ]

noun,plural coups de poing [French kooduh -pwan]. /French kudə ˈpwɛ̃/. Archaeology.
  1. (no longer in technical use) a Lower Paleolithic stone hand ax, pointed or ovate in shape and having sharp cutting edges.

Origin of coup de poing

1
1910–15; <French: literally, blow of the fist

Words Nearby coup de poing

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use coup de poing in a sentence

  • Pre-Chellean, prototypes of coup de poing; old 'lower gravels' (E. antiquus).

    Men of the Old Stone Age | Henry Fairfield Osborn
  • It is this grasping of the primitive tool by the hand to which the terms 'coup de poing,' 'Faustkeil,' and 'hand-axe' refer.

    Men of the Old Stone Age | Henry Fairfield Osborn
  • Capitan also holds that the coup de poing is not a single tool but is designed to meet many various needs.

    Men of the Old Stone Age | Henry Fairfield Osborn
  • This implement, which serves the original idea of the coup de poing, develops into the round-pointed and lance-pointed forms.

    Men of the Old Stone Age | Henry Fairfield Osborn