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coup

KOO · noun

LatinLate LatinOld FrenchFrenchEnglish

Origin

Coup was reborrowed in modern times from French coup, meaning "blow, strike," which traces back through Old French coup/colp to Late Latin colpus and ultimately Latin colaphus.

Journey

The same Old French word had already entered Middle English once before, as coupe or caupe, but pronounced differently — so English ended up borrowing essentially the same root twice, centuries apart.

Related words

Coup is a doublet of cope and colpus, meaning all three descend from the same Latin ancestor but arrived in English by different paths.

More words

From Late Latin

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