Coup

How to spell coup

4 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce coup

What does coup mean?

1. nounA sudden, usually violent and illegal seizure of power from a government.
2. nounA notable, unexpected and successful achievement or strategic move.

Coup in a sentence

• The general led a bloodless coup and took control of the capital overnight.

• Signing the celebrity author was a major coup for the small publishing house.

• Foreign investors fled the country after the military coup collapsed the elected government.

• Landing the interview before any rival outlet was a real coup for the young reporter.

Where does coup come from?

Language of origin: French

The word comes from French coup, meaning 'a blow' or 'a stroke', which descends from the Late Latin colpus, an alteration of the Latin colaphus, 'a blow with the fist'. That Latin word was itself borrowed from the Greek kolaphos, meaning 'a buffet' or 'a punch'. In French the sense broadened from a literal physical blow to any sudden, decisive action, which is why English uses it for a sharp, unexpected stroke of strategy or fortune. English borrowed coup in the 1600s and kept the French spelling intact, including the silent final 'p', which is the chief trap for writers who hear only the 'koo' sound. The fuller phrase coup d'etat, literally 'a stroke of state', narrowed the political meaning to the sudden overthrow of a government, while the bare coup still carries the wider sense of a brilliant or successful move.

How the word is built

• coup (from Latin colpus/colaphus: a blow or stroke), borrowed whole from French

Words that sound like coup

They sound the same but mean different things, so the meaning decides which spelling to write.

• coo: To make the soft, low murmuring sound characteristic of a dove or pigeon.