Etymograph

English

cope

Cope comes from Old French coper ‘to strike, to cut’, from Vulgar Latin colaphus ‘a blow with the fist’, and ultimately from Ancient Greek κόλαφος.

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκόλαφος1‘a buffet, a blow’
  2. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CEcolaphus2‘a blow with the fist’
  3. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*colpus2reconstructed
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400coper3‘to strike, to cut’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500coupen3
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1856cope3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin colaphus
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Old French coper
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English cope
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1856, John Henry Walsh: “the beak and talons should be closely coped”.

Lineage

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκόλαφοςWiktionary, Latin colaphus‘a buffet, a blow’
  2. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CEcolaphusWiktionary, Old French coper‘a blow with the fist’
  3. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*colpusWiktionary, Old French coperreconstructed
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400coperWiktionary, English cope‘to strike, to cut’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500coupenWiktionary, English cope
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1856copeWiktionary, English cope. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1856, John Henry Walsh: “the beak and talons should be closely coped”

Linked words

through Vulgar Latin colaphus ‘a blow with the fist’

coppice

through Old French coper ‘to strike, to cut’

coupon, recoup, 3 more

through Middle English coupen

coup

Another origin of cope

  1. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500cappaas cāpa‘cape’
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500cope‘a cape or cloak’
  3. Englishtodaycope

Today it means

verb To deal effectively with something, especially if difficult.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “cope”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin colaphus, Old French coper. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Ancient Greek κόλαφος / cope

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