coup de poing

American

[kood^uh-pwan] / kudəˈpwɛ̃ /

noun

Archaeology.

(no longer in technical use) a Lower Paleolithic stone hand ax, pointed or ovate in shape and having sharp cutting edges.

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

coups de poing

plural

Etymology

Origin of coup de poing

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

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Then there was a small coup de poing ax, rather low paleolithic, and a chipped implement of flint the shape of a slice of orange and about five inches along the straight edge.

From Little Fuzzy by Piper, H. Beam

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023