coup

[kohp, koop]

verb (used with or without object) Scot.

overturn; upset.

Origin of coup

1350–1400; 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 couped

Historical Examples of couped

If couped between the elbow and the wrist, it is a cubit arm.
The Handbook to English Heraldry
Charles Boutell
Stocks of Trees "couped and eradicated" are by no means uncommon.
A Complete Guide to Heraldry
Arthur Charles Fox-Davies
Less often it is found “couped” or cut off with a sheer line.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 13, Slice 3
Various
The energies of Frenchmen are not imprisoned; no, they are only couped.
Punchinello, Vol. 1, No. 9, May 28, 1870
Various
Crest—An arm embowed, couped at the shoulder, the hand grasping a hammer, all proper.
The True Legend of St. Dunstan and the Devil
Edward G. Flight

British Dictionary definitions for couped

coup

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

coup

cowp

Scot

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

coup

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

Word Origin and History for couped

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.

couped in Culture

coup

[(kooh)]

In politics, an abbreviation for coup d'état.