coup

Etymology

Borrowed from French coup (“blow, strike”), from Late Latin colpus, from Latin colaphus. Doublet of colpus.

noun

1. A quick, brilliant, and highly successful act.
   The conference was a major coup for Robarts, who received congratulations for his 'expert handling' of the 'risky venture.' 2000, P. E. Bryden, “The Ontario-Quebec Axis: Postwar Strategies in Intergovernmental Negotiations”, in Edgar-André Montigny, Anne Lorene Chambers, editors, Ontario Since Confederation: A Reader, page 399
   While the price was considered a coup for Morgan, enhancing his reputation on Wall Street, Carnegie had a different explanation for his selling price. 2004, Charles R. Geisst, Wall Street: A History, page 116
   […]It was quite a coup for Pullen Park to get it. It had been in storage for awhile, and several parks in other places wanted to purchase it. 2005, Laryce Henderson Rybka, Legacy of the Lamp, page 252
   Yet the capture of Di María, who was the man of the match when Real won a 10th Champions League in May, represents something a coup for United considering the club are not in Europe’s premier club competition and need to strengthen their squad after the team have let five points slip from the first two matches. 26 August 2014, Jamie Jackson, “Ángel di María says Manchester United were the ‘only club’ after Real”, in The Guardian
   The diplomatic messaging of RCEP may be just as important as the economics—a coup for China. 2020-11-15, Yen Nee Lee, ‘A coup for China’: Analysts react to the world’s largest trade deal that excludes the U.S., CNBC
   Just imagine if my predecessor came to this dinner this year. Now that would really have been a real coup if that occurred. [audience gasps] Little tough, huh? 30 April 2022, Joe Biden, 1:02 from the start, in President Biden complete remarks at 2022 White House Correspondents' Dinner (C-SPAN), Washington, D.C.: C-SPAN, archived from the original on 2022-05-01
2. (US, historical, of Native Americans) A blow against an enemy delivered in a way that shows bravery.
   Among the Blackfeet the capture of a shield, bow, gun, war bonnet, war shirt, or medicine pipe was deemed a coup. 1892, George Bird Grinnell, “The Blackfoot in War”, in Blackfoot Lodge Tales: The Story of a Prairie People, New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, page 248
   Thus, for a horseman to ride over and knock down an enemy, who was on foot, was regarded among the Blackfeet as a coup, for the horseman might be shot at close quarters, or might receive a lance thrust. 2007, James Mooney, George Bird Grinnell, Edmund Nequatewa, Native American Ways: Four Paths to Enlightenment, page 316
3. A coup d'état.
   Military coups and the military regimes which follow from them are so much a feature of third world politics that their presence or absence in any given region might almost be taken as a rough and ready touchstone of third worldliness. 1985, Christopher S. Clapham, Third World Politics: An Introduction, page 137
   It was the military's discontent with what was happening in the country and in the military that led to the first military coup in January 1966. The First Republic was brought to an ignoble end and replaced with a military government. 2003, April A. Gordon, Nigeria's Diverse Peoples: A Reference Sourcebook, page 130
   The coup was well-planned. Fuel was artificially held back so as to create shortages and dissatisfaction with Brotherhood rule. The old state-controlled unions mounted public sector strikes that further sabotaged the economy and annoyed people. Police-controlled thugs who had been used against the Tahrir Square demonstrations in 2011 came back into action. 2013-08-23, Jonathan Steele, “The west has little influence in Egypt”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 11, page 18
4. (by extension) A takeover of one group by another.
   Liz Truss’s government is in chaos after the chancellor refused to confirm he would bring forward his budget to calm the markets and the home secretary accused fellow MPs of a coup against the prime minister. […] Backbenchers also expressed outrage at [Suella] Braverman’s suggestion of a “coup” against Truss. 2022-10-04, “Truss government in chaos amid budget confusion and coup accusations”, in The Guardian
5. A single roll of the wheel at roulette, or a deal in rouge et noir.
6. (bridge) One of various named strategies employed by the declarer to win more tricks, such as the Bath coup.

verb

1. (intransitive) To make a coup.
   The squaws of another race will sing the death-song of their benefactor, and woe to the Sioux if the Northern Cheyennes get a chance to coup ! 1895, Frederic Remington, “Lieutenant Casey’s Last Scout”, in Pony Tracks, New York: Harper & Brothers, page 48