putsch

[poo ch]

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noun

a plotted revolt or attempt to overthrow a government, especially one that depends upon suddenness and speed.

Origin of putsch

1915–20; < German Putsch, orig. Swiss German: literally, violent blow, clash, shock; introduced in sense “coup” in standard German through Swiss popular uprisings of the 1830s, especially the Zurich revolt of Sept. 1839

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for putsch

coup, overthrow, rebellion, revolt, revolution, takeover

Examples from the Web for putsch

Contemporary Examples of putsch

A lack of contenders to replace McConnell also makes a putsch unlikely.
Will Mitch McConnell Face a Senate Coup?
David Freedlander
June 5, 2014
But pity Alison Lundergan Grimes, the primary beneficiary of the anti-Ashley putsch.
How Kentucky Democrats Duped the MSM and Helped Elbow Out Ashley Judd
Jonathan Miller
April 1, 2013
Naturally Neurath repeated the standard line, that Röhm had planned a putsch, but Dodd could sense that Neurath was shaken.
A Witness to Hitler's Rise
Zachary Shore
May 27, 2011

Historical Examples of putsch

And I also fail to understand the timing of The Brain's putsch.
The Brain
Alexander Blade
They were exploiting a local "putsch" so as to carry out a general "pogrom."
The New Germany
George Young

British Dictionary definitions for putsch

putsch

noun

a violent and sudden uprising; political revolt, esp a coup d'état

Word Origin for putsch

C20: from German: from Swiss German: a push, of imitative origin

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 putsch

1920, from German Putsch "revolt, riot," from Swiss dialect, literally "a sudden blow, push, thrust, shock," of imitative origin.