Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun The sudden overthrow of a government by a usually small group of persons in or previously in positions of authority.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun The
sudden overthrow of agovernment , differing from arevolution by being carried out by a small group of people who replace only the leading figures.
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
[French : coup, blow, stroke + de, of + état, state.]
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Borrowing from French coup d'état (literally "stroke of state").
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Examples
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whichbe commented on the word coup d'état
The sudden overthrow of a government. (from WordCraft)
May 20, 2008