coup
1[ koo ]
/ ku /
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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.
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Idioms for coup
- 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
Definition for coup (2 of 2)
coup2
[ 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. 2021
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British Dictionary definitions for coup (1 of 3)
Word Origin for coup
C18: from French: blow, from Latin colaphus blow with the fist, from Greek kolaphos
British Dictionary definitions for coup (2 of 3)
coup2
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
British Dictionary definitions for coup (3 of 3)
coup3
/ (kaʊp) /
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
Cultural definitions for coup
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.