the.com/coup
Regime change by force, with a press conference instead of an election.
means A sudden, often violent seizure of power or government, typically carried out by a small group from within.
from From French coup, meaning 'blow' or 'strike,' itself from Late Latin colpus and ultimately Greek kolaphos, 'a punch or buffet.' The full phrase was coup d'état — 'a stroke of state' — and English simply clipped it down to the punchy half, keeping the violence and losing the formality.
- etymology
- French for a sudden blow or strike
- success window
- most succeed or fail within days
- common step
- seize the TV station before the palace
- base rate
- roughly half of coups attempt a second coup