Coup

Coup
Coup Coup (k[=oo]), n. [F., fr.L. colaphus a cuff, Gr. ko`lafos.] 1. A sudden stroke delivered with promptness and force; -- used also in various ways to convey the idea of an unexpected, clever, and successful tactic or stratagem. [1913 Webster +PJC]

2. A single roll of the wheel at roulette, or a deal at rouge et noir. [Cant] [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

3. Among some tribes of North American Indians especially of the Great Plains, the act of striking or touching an enemy in warfare with the hand or at close quarters, as with a short stick, in such a manner as by custom to entitle the doer to count the deed an act of bravery; hence, any of various other deeds recognized by custom as acts of bravery or honor.

While the coup was primarily, and usually, a blow with something held in the hand, other acts in warfare which involved great danger to him who performed them were also reckoned coups by some tribes. --G. B. Grinnell.

Among the Blackfeet the capture of a shield, bow, gun, war bonnet, war shirt, or medicine pipe was deemed a coup. --G. B. Grinnell. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

{Coup de grace} (k[=oo]` de gr[.a]s") [F.], the stroke of mercy with which an executioner ends by death the sufferings of the condemned; hence, a decisive, finishing stroke.

{Coup de main} (k[=oo]` de m[a^]N") [F.] (Mil.), a sudden and unexpected movement or attack.

{Coup de soleil} (k[=o]` de s[-o]*l[asl]l or -l[asl]"y') [F.] (Med.), a sunstroke. See {Sunstroke}.

{Coup d'['e]tat} (k[=oo]" d[asl]*t[aum]") [F.] (Politics), a sudden, decisive exercise of power whereby the existing government is subverted without the consent of the people; an unexpected measure of state, more or less violent; a stroke of policy.

{Coup d'[oe]il} (k[=oo]` d[~e]l"). [F.] (a) A single view; a rapid glance of the eye; a comprehensive view of a scene; as much as can be seen at one view. (b) The general effect of a picture. (c) (Mil.) The faculty or the act of comprehending at a glance the weakness or strength of a military position, of a certain arrangement of troops, the most advantageous position for a battlefield, etc. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • coup — coup …   Dictionnaire des rimes

  • coup — [ ku ] n. m. • colp 1080; lat. pop. colpus, class. colaphus, gr. kolaphos I ♦ 1 ♦ Mouvement par lequel un corps vient en heurter un autre; impression (ébranlement, bruit...) produite par ce qui heurte. ⇒ choc, ébranlement, heurt, tamponnement.… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • coup — COUP. s. mas. Impression que fait un corps sur un autre en le frappant, le perçant, le divisant, etc. Grand coup. Petit coup. Rude coup. Coup léger. Coup pesant. La force, la pesanteur du coup. Coup qui entre bien avant. Coup de poing. Coup de… …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie Française 1798

  • coup — COUP. s. m. Impression que fait un corps sur un autre en le frappant, le perçant, le divisant &c. Grand coup. petit coup. rude coup. coup leger. coup pesant. la force, la pesanteur du coup. coup qui entre bien avant. coup de poing. coup de pied,… …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie française

  • coup — Coup, ou Coupau, Que nous disons Cocu, c est celuy duquel la femme s abbandonne à autre, Curuca. Coup, {{t=g}}kopis,{{/t}} Copis, huius copidis genus est gladij, mucro, bipennis, securis, {{t=g}}kopos.{{/t}} Copos signifie autant que Labor,… …   Thresor de la langue françoyse

  • coup — [ ku ] noun count ** 1. ) coup or coup d état an occasion when a group of people takes control of a country, usually by means of military force: a military/army coup: There has been a series of military coups since the country gained independence …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • Coup De Cœur — Cet article a pour sujet le film américain. Pour une définition de l expression « coup de cœur », voir l’article coup de cœur du Wiktionnaire. Coup de cœur (One from the Heart) est un film américain de Francis Ford Coppola sorti en 1982 …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Coup d'œil — (or coup d oeil) is a term taken from French, that more or less corresponds to the words glimpse or glance in English. The literal meaning is stroke of [the] eye . It is mostly used in a military context, where the coup d œil refers to the… …   Wikipedia

  • coup — [ku:] n [Date: 1700 1800; : French; Origin: hit, stroke ] 1.) a sudden and sometimes violent attempt by citizens or the army to take control of the government = coup d état ▪ Haiti s first elected president was deposed in a violent military coup …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • Coup — v. i. To make a coup. Woe to the Sioux if the Northern Cheyennes get a chance to coup ! F. Remington. [Webster 1913 Suppl.] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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