打向權力的一擊
最字面的一擊:真的有人動手,打的是政權。
coup (overthrow) · noun · C2
A sudden attempt by citizens or the army to take control of a country's government, sometimes by force.
政變
Picture a single sudden blow — the French word simply means "a strike". English kept only the most dramatic kind: fast, unexpected, and decisive enough to change everything before anyone can react.
Borrowed from modern French coup ("blow, strike"), from Late Latin colpus, from Latin colaphus ("a punch"). Both English senses are the same picture: a single decisive blow.
英文的 coup 是近代直接從法文 coup(打擊、一擊)借來的,法文上溯 Late Latin colpus、Latin colaphus(拳擊、一拳)。知道它原本就是「一拳」,兩個看似無關的用法就接上了:政變是打向政權的一拳,漂亮的成功是打向對手或難題的一拳。法文裡這個字還有一整族親戚(coup d'état 國家的一擊、coup de grâce 慈悲的一擊),全都建立在同一個「一下」的畫面上。
Wiktionary, "coup" — reborrowed from French coup ("blow, strike"), from Old French coup/colp, from Late Latin colpus, from Latin colaphus.
Two branches
打向權力的一擊
最字面的一擊:真的有人動手,打的是政權。
coup (overthrow) · noun · C2
A sudden attempt by citizens or the army to take control of a country's government, sometimes by force.
政變
打得漂亮的一擊
同一記重擊,但打在難題或競爭對手身上,而且旁人看了會鼓掌。
coup (impressive feat) · noun · C2
Something you succeed in doing that people admire a lot, because it was very hard to get.
漂亮一擊
以下是外部詞典記錄的用法,原文照列,我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的;有些用法可能上面已經講過了。
coupnoun詞源 1/kuː/
A quick, brilliant, and highly successful act.
historicalOf Native Americans, a blow against an enemy delivered in a way that demonstrates bravery.
A coup d'état.
A takeover of one group by another.
A single roll of the wheel at roulette, or a deal in rouge et noir.
bridgegamesOne of various named strategies employed by the declarer to win more tricks, such as the Bath coup.
coupverb詞源 1/kuː/
To execute a coup.
informalTo subject (a nation) to a coup d'état.
To empty out, overturn, or tilt, such as from a cart or wheelbarrow.
coupverb詞源 2
To exchange, barter.
資料來源:英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary(CC BY-SA 4.0)。 原文照列,未經改寫。