coup

• POS: Noun, Verb (usu participle)

CIDE DICTIONARY

coup, n. [F., fr.L. colaphus a cuff, Gr. ko`lafos.].

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

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

Coup de grace (k [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 [F.] (Mil.), a sudden and unexpected movement or attack. -- Coup de soleil (k [F.] (Med.), a sunstroke. See Sunstroke. -- Coup d'état (k [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'œil (k. [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.

coup, v. i. 

 To make a coup.
"Woe to the Sioux if the Northern Cheyennes get a chance to coup !"  [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

coup, n. (pl. coups)
1 a notable or successful stroke or move.
2 = COUP D'{Eacute}TAT.
3 Billiards a direct pocketing of the ball.

Etymology

F f. med.L colpus blow: see COPE(1)

THESAURUS

coup

abduction, accomplished fact, accomplishment, achievement, act, acta, action, ad hoc measure, adventure, answer, apprehension, arrest, arrestation, art, artful dodge, artifice, blind, blow, breath, capture, catch, catching, chicanery, collaring, conspiracy, contrivance, countermove, course of action, crack, craft, cute trick, dealings, deceit, deed, demarche, design, device, dodge, doing, doings, dragnet, effort, endeavor, enterprise, expedient, exploit, fait accompli, fakement, feat, feint, fetch, flash, forcible seizure, gambit, game, gest, gimmick, go, grab, grabbing, grift, half a jiffy, half a mo, half a second, half a shake, hand, handiwork, hold, improvisation, instant, intrigue, jiff, jiffy, job, jugglery, jury-rig, jury-rigged expedient, kidnapping, knavery, last expedient, last resort, last shift, little game, makeshift, maneuver, means, measure, microsecond, millisecond, minute, moment, move, nabbing, operation, overt act, passage, performance, picking up, pis aller, plot, ploy, power grab, prehension, proceeding, production, racket, red herring, res gestae, resort, resource, running in, ruse, scheme, sec, second, seizure, seizure of power, shake, shake-up, shift, sleight, snatch, snatching, solution, split second, step, stopgap, stratagem, strategy, stroke, stroke of policy, stunt, subterfuge, tactic, taking in, taking into custody, temporary expedient, thing, thing done, tick, tour de force, transaction, trice, trick, trickery, trump, turn, twink, twinkle, twinkling, twitch, two shakes, undertaking, wile, wily device, wink, work, working hypothesis, working proposition, works

ROGET THESAURUS

coup

Plan

N plan, scheme, design, project, proposal, proposition, suggestion, resolution, motion, precaution, deep- laid plan, system, organization, germ, sketch, skeleton, outline, draught, draft, ebauche, brouillon, rough cast, rough draft, draught copy, copy, proof, revise, drawing, scheme, schematic, graphic, chart, flow chart (representation), forecast, program, programme, prospectus, carte du pays, card, bill, protocol, order of the day, list of agenda, bill of fare, base of operations, platform, plank, slate, ticket, role, policy, contrivance, invention, expedient, receipt, nostrum, artifice, device, pipelaying, stratagem, trick, alternative, loophole, shift, last shift, measure, step, stroke, stroke of policy, master stroke, trump card, court card, cheval de bataille, great gun, coup, coup d'etat, clever stroke, bold stroke, good move, good hit, good stroke, bright thought, bright idea, intrigue, cabal, plot, conspiracy, complot, machination, subplot, underplot, counterplot, schemer, schemist, schematist, strategist, machinator, projector, artist, promoter, designer, conspirator, intrigant, planned, strategic, strategical, planning, prepared, in course of preparation, under consideration, on the tapis, on the carpet, on the floor.

Action

N action, performance, doing perpetration, exercise, excitation, movement, operation, evolution, work, labor, praxis, execution, procedure, handicraft, business, agency, deed, act, overt act, stitch, touch, gest transaction, job, doings, dealings, proceeding, measure, step, maneuver, bout, passage, move, stroke, blow, coup, coup de main, coup d'etat, tour de force, feat, exploit, achievement, handiwork, workmanship, manufacture, stroke of policy, actor, doing, acting, in action, in harness, on duty, in operation, in the act, in the midst of, in the thick of, red-handed, in flagrante delicto, while one's hand is in, action is eloquence, actions speak louder than words, actum aiunt ne agas, awake, arise, or be forever fall'n, dii pia facta vident, faire sans dire, fare fac, fronte capillata post est occasio calva, our deeds are sometimes better than our thoughts, the great end of life is not knowledge but action, thought is the soul of act, vivre-ce nest pas respirer c'est agir, we live in deeds not years.

Instantaneity

N instantaneity, instantaneousness, immediacy, suddenness, abruptness, moment, instant, second, minute, twinkling, trice, flash, breath, crack, jiffy, coup, burst, flash of lightning, stroke of time, epoch, time, time of day, time of night, hour, minute, very minute, very time, very hour, present time, right time, true time, exact correct time, instantaneous, momentary, sudden, immediate, instant, abrupt, discontinuous, precipitous, precipitant, precipitate, subitaneous, hasty, quick as thought, quick as lightning, quick as a flash, rapid as electricity, speedy, quick, fast, fleet, swift, lively, blitz, rapid (velocity), instantaneously, in no time, in less than no time, presto, subito, instanter, suddenly, at a stroke, like a shot, in a moment, in the blink of an eye, in the twinkling of an eye, in a trice, in one's tracks, right away, toute a l'heure, at one jump, in the same breath, per saltum, uno saltu, at once, all at once, plump, slap, at one fell swoop, at the same instant, immediately, extempore, on the moment, on the spot, on the spur of the moment, no sooner said than done, just then, slap-dash, touch and go, no sooner said than done.