cope English · revision 10400

17 Oct 2026, 02:38 by bogdan “en10k b0349: bust … thee”
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+ Cope, to deal with, is from Old French couper, to strike; cope, a cloak or vestment, is from Medieval Latin capa.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)
+ 
+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA: /ˈkəʊp/ ''(UK)''; /ˈkoʊp/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)
+ 
+ {{homograph|1|deal with}}
+ 
+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1400|origins=fro couper|origins=la colpus}}
+ 
+ ==Etymology==
+ It is Middle English coupen, copen, [[bor|fro|couper|t=to strike, cut]], earlier colper, to hit, punch,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from colp, coup, a blow (see [[coup]]),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) from Late Latin colpus, from Latin colaphus, a blow with the fist, from Greek.^(MWU 2024)^(Cresswell 2021)
+ 
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ To quarrel, the late 14th century; to come to blows, engage in combat, about 1400, before 1400 in Barnhart.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) The verbal noun coupyng is from before 1375.^(Barnhart 1988)
+ 
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ The word once meant to meet in battle or come to blows.^(Cresswell 2021) In Shakespeare it is used in the now obsolete sense to come into contact, meet, match.^(Barnhart 1988) The modern figurative sense, to contend with or deal with successfully, is first recorded in 1641, in Milton,^(Barnhart 1988) and by the 18th century had become the main sense, handling something successfully,^(Etymonline) perhaps influenced by the obsolete cope, to traffic, bargain, buy (15th–17th centuries), from Middle Dutch kopen (compare [[cheap]]).^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002) [[coppice|alt=Coppice]] and [[copse]] are from the same Old French source.^(Cresswell 2021)
+ 
+ ==Timeline==
+ * before 1375 – coupyng.^(Barnhart 1988)
+ * late 14th century – to quarrel.^(Etymonline)
+ * c. 1400 – to come to blows.^(Etymonline)
+ * 1641 – to deal with.^(Barnhart 1988)
+ * 18th century – to manage successfully.^(Etymonline)
+ 
+ ==Modern meaning==
+ ===Verb===
+ # To deal successfully with a difficult situation; to [[manage]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)
+ # To contend or strive, especially on even terms.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)
+ # ''(archaic)'' To meet in battle.^(Collins 2023)
+ 
+ ==Word family==
+ * [[coping]]
+ 
+ {{homograph|2|cloak}}
+ 
+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1200|origins=la-med capa|origins=la cappa}}
+ 
+ ==Etymology==
+ It is Middle English cope, from earlier cāpe, as in Old English cantelcāpe (before 1121),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from Medieval Latin capa, a cloak, a variant of Late Latin cappa, a hood, mantle (see [[cap]]).^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) Old Norse kápa and French chape are from the same source.^(Hoad 1986)
+ 
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ A long cloak or cape worn outdoors: about 1200, probably before 1200 in the ''Ancrene Riwle''.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)
+ 
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ The special dress of a monk or friar is from before 1225,^(OED 1989) and a large mantle worn by priests or bishops over the alb from the late 13th century.^(Etymonline) It was used figuratively for the cloak of night's darkness, extended to the vault of the sky in the once-common poetic phrase ''cope of heaven'' (late 14th century).^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) The verb, to cover with a cope, is from before 1376.^(Barnhart 1988) From the noun came the ''cope-stone'' at the top of a wall (16th century) and [[coping]] (17th century).^(Hoad 1986)
+ 
+ ==Timeline==
+ * c. 1200 – a cloak.^(Etymonline)
+ * late 13th century – a priest's vestment.^(Etymonline)
+ * before 1376 – to cover with a cope (verb).^(Barnhart 1988)
+ * 1393 – the cope of night.^(OED 1989)
+ * 16th century – cope-stone.^(Hoad 1986)
+ 
+ ==Modern meaning==
+ ===Noun===
+ # A long semicircular cloak worn by a priest or bishop on ceremonial occasions.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)
+ # A covering like a cloak or canopy.^(AHD)
+ # A [[coping]] on a wall.^(AHD)
+ 
+ ===Verb===
+ # To dress in a cope.^(AHD)
+ # To provide a wall with coping.^(AHD)
+ 
+ ==Word family==
+ * [[copestone]]
+ 
+ ==Related words==
+ * [[coup]]
+ * [[cap]]
+ * [[cape]]
+ * [[chapel]]
+ * [[coppice]]
+ * [[copse]]
+ 
+ ==References==
+ {{reflist}}