couper

Signification

1. to cut, cut up; to chop, to sever
2. to cut, to clip, to trim
3. to cut off, to keep out, to bar
4. to take away
5. to stop, prevent
6. to dilute, mix
7. to traverse
8. to take a shortcut through something, to cut through
9. to crack

Prononcé comme (IPA)

/ku.pe/

Étymologie

Inherited from Old French coper, colper (“to cut off”), probably, derived from cop (“blow”), colp (modern coup), with its meaning coming from the idea of cutting off with a blow. It may correspond to a Vulgar Latin verb *colpāre, syncopated form of *colaphāre, from Latin colaphus (compare Old Spanish golpar, colpar, Old Galician-Portuguese golpar, golbar). Alternatively, possibly from Vulgar Latin *cuppāre (“to behead”), from Latin caput (“head”), although this is unlikely. Not related to couteau.