coping

Etymology

From cope (sense 2), used in the sense "dress in a cope," "to cover."

noun

1. (architecture) The top layer of a brick wall, especially one that slopes in order to throw off water.
   He stood a moment at the coping, looking over a land of hard little bungalows with abnormally large porches, and new apartment-houses, small, but brave with variegated brick walls and terra-cotta trimmings. 1922, Sinclair Lewis, “28”, in Babbitt
2. (psychology) The process of managing taxing circumstances, expending effort to solve personal and interpersonal problems, and seeking to master, minimize, reduce or tolerate stress or conflict.
3. (falconry) Clipping the beak or talons of a bird.

verb

1. present participle and gerund of cope