Coup – Golf
- PostEagle
- July 21, 2015
- Word Etymology
- 0 Comments
Today’s words are – COUP and GOLF.
COUP means – a SUDDEN STROKE, AN UNEXPECTED DEVICE OR STRATEGEM, A TERM USED IN VARIOUS WAYS TO CONVEY THE IDEA OF PROMPTNESS AND FORCE.
GOLF means – A GAME PLAYED ON A LARGE OPEN COURSE WITH 9 OR 18 HOLES; THE OBJECT IS TO USE AS FEW STROKES AS POSSIBLE IN PLAYING ALL THE HOLES.
The French word – COLP – means STROKE.
The Latin word – COLPUS – means – PUNCH.
The Greek word – KOLAPHOS – means – PUNCH.
The French word, COUP was derived from the Latin word, COLPUS, which originally came from the Greek word, KOLAPHOS. Today, there are many French idioms which draw upon the word, COUP, meaning STROKE. These phrases have also been accepted into the English language. For example:
COUP DE GRACE: DE – means – OF. GRACE – means – MERCY. THE STROKE OF MERCY WITH WHICH AN EXECUTIONER ENDS BY DEATH THE SUFFERINGS OF THE CONDEMNED.
COUP DE MAIN: MAIN – means –HAND. A SUDDEN AND UNEXPECTED MOVEMENT OR ATTACK.
COUP D’ETAT: ETAT – means – STATE. A SUDDEN, DECISIVE EXERCISE OF POWER WHEREBY THE EXISTING GOVERNMENT IS SUBVERTED WITHOUT THE CONSENT OF THE PEOPLE.
COUP D’OEIL: OEIL – means – EYE. A SINGLE VIEW, A RAPID GLANCE OF THE EYE.
The origin of the word GOLF is also relatively clear, since the objective of the game is to STROKE or “PUNCH” the ball as few times as possible.