coupon

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈkuːˌpɑn/, /ˈkjuːˌpɑn/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French coupon (“piece cut off”),^[2][3][4][5] from couper (“to cut”), from coup (“a blow”) (see coup),^[2][3] which goes back through Late Latin colpus to Latin colaphus (“a blow with the fist”).^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

A certificate of interest due on a bond, cut off and presented for payment: 1822 in Barnhart, the OED, Etymonline and Merriam-Webster.^[2][7][3][8]

Semantic evolution

The sense of a ticket giving the holder certain rights, as to a journey or a discount, was introduced by the travel agent Thomas Cook in 1864.^[2][3] A coupon in an advertisement, entitling the holder to a discount or gift, is from 1906,^[3][7] an entry form for the football pools from 1909,^[7] and a ration coupon from 1918.^[7] In the same year a coupon was a party leader's endorsement of a parliamentary candidate.^[7] Coupon-clipper, an American term for a person living on investment income, is from 1860.^[7]

Timeline

• 1822 – a bond coupon.^[2][7]
• 1864 – a travel coupon (Thomas Cook).^[2]
• 1906 – an advertising coupon.^[3][7]
• 1918 – a ration coupon.^[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A voucher or detachable part of an advertisement entitling the holder to a discount or gift.
2. A form to be filled in and sent off, as an order or entry form.
3. (finance) A certificate attached to a bond that is detached to claim interest; the rate of interest paid.
4. One of a set of tickets for rationed goods.

Word family

• couponless
• couponer
• couponing
• coupon bond
• zero coupon

Related words

• coup
• cope
• voucher

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster