cop

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• Received-Pronunciation: /kɒp/
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• General-American: /kɑp/
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• Australian: /kɔp/
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• Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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• Canada: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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• Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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• rhymes with -ɒp
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• CMU ARPABET: K AA1 P Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
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Short for copper (“police officer”), itself from the verb cop (“to lay hold of”) above, in reference to arresting criminals. An erroneous folk etymology derives it from the acronym “Constable On Patrol” (C.O.P.).

From Middle English coppe, from Old English *coppe, as in ātorcoppe (“spider”, literally “venom head”), from Old English copp (“top, summit, head”), from Proto-West Germanic *kopp, from Proto-Germanic *kuppaz (“vault, round vessel, head”), from Proto-Indo-European *gew- (“to bend, curve”). Cognate with Middle Dutch koppe, kobbe (“spider”). More at cobweb.

From Middle English cop, coppe, from Old English cop, copp, from Proto-West Germanic *kopp, from Proto-Germanic *kuppaz (“vault, basin, round object”), from Proto-Indo-European *gew-. Cognate with Dutch kop, German Kopf.

Uncertain. Perhaps from Middle English *coppen, *copen, from Old English copian (“to plunder; pillage; steal”); or possibly from Middle French caper (“to capture”), from Latin capiō (“to seize, grasp”); or possibly from Dutch kapen (“to seize, hijack”), from Old Frisian kāpia (“to buy”), whence West Frisian keapje, Saterland Frisian koopje, North Frisian koopi, kuupe. Compare also Middle English copen (“to buy”), from Middle Dutch copen.

124 source translations are retained for this English entry.

• Arabic: شُرْطِيّ (šurṭiyy) — police officer (informal)
• Belarusian: мент (mjent) — police officer (informal)
• Belarusian: більдзю́га (bilʹdzjúha) — police officer (informal)
• Bulgarian: ченге́ (čengé) — police officer (informal)
• Bulgarian: ку́ка (kúka) — police officer (informal)
• Bulgarian: ченге́л (čengél) — police officer (informal)
• Bulgarian: фура́жка (furážka) — police officer (informal)
• Catalan: bòfia — police officer (informal)
• Cherokee: ᏗᏓᏂᏱᏍᎩ (didaniyisgi) — police officer (informal)
• Chinese Mandarin: 條子 /条子 (tiáozi) — police officer (informal)
• Chinese Mandarin: 帽子叔叔 (màozishūshū) — police officer (informal)
• Chinese Mandarin: 雷子 (léizi) — police officer (informal)
• Czech: polda — police officer (informal)
• Czech: policajt — police officer (informal)
• Czech: bachař — police officer (informal)
• Danish: panser — police officer (informal)
• Danish: strisser — police officer (informal)
• Danish: strømer — police officer (informal)
• Dutch: smeris — police officer (informal)
• Esperanto: policano — police officer (informal)
• Esperanto: policanino — police officer (informal)
• Esperanto: policisto — police officer (informal)
• Esperanto: policistino — police officer (informal)
• Esperanto: sbiro — police officer (informal)
• Esperanto: sbirino — police officer (informal)
• Esperanto: policistaĉo — police officer (informal)
• Esperanto: policistinaĉo — police officer (informal)
• Estonian: ment — police officer (informal)
• Estonian: pollar — police officer (informal)
• Estonian: võmm — police officer (informal)
• Estonian: kardavoi — police officer (informal)
• Estonian: sandarm — police officer (informal)
• Estonian: miilits — police officer (informal)
• Finnish: pollari — police officer (informal)
• Finnish: kyttä — police officer (informal)
• Finnish: poliisi — police officer (informal)
• Finnish: poliisimies — police officer (informal)
• Finnish: skoude — police officer (informal)
• French: flic — police officer (informal)
• French: keuf — police officer (informal)
• French: poulet — police officer (informal)
• French: police — police officer (informal)
• German: Bulle — police officer (informal)
• Greek: μπάτσος (bátsos) — police officer (informal)
• Greek: μπατσίνα (batsína) — police officer (informal)
• Greek: αστυφύλακας (astyfýlakas) — police officer (informal)
• Hebrew: שוטר (shotér) — police officer (informal)
• Hebrew: שוטרת (shotéret) — police officer (informal)
• Hungarian: zsaru — police officer (informal)
• Icelandic: lögga — police officer (informal)
• Irish: póilín — police officer (informal)
• Italian: piedipiatti — police officer (informal)
• Italian: poliziotto — police officer (informal)
• Italian: poliziotta — police officer (informal)
• Italian: secondino — police officer (informal)
• Italian: secondina — police officer (informal)
• Italian: sbirro — police officer (informal)
• Italian: sbirra — police officer (informal)
• Japanese: おまわりさん (o-mawari-san) — police officer (informal)
• Japanese: 察 (satsu) — police officer (informal)
• Latin: vigil — police officer (informal)
• Macedonian: цајкан (cajkan) — police officer (informal)
• Macedonian: џандар (džandar) — police officer (informal)
• Norwegian Bokmål: purk — police officer (informal)
• Norwegian Nynorsk: purk — police officer (informal)
• Polish: gliniarz — police officer (informal)
• Polish: glina — police officer (informal)
• Polish: pies — police officer (informal)
• Polish: menda — police officer (informal)
• Portuguese: polícia — police officer (informal)
• Portuguese: tira — police officer (informal)
• Romanian: gabor — police officer (informal)
• Russian: коп (kop) — police officer (informal)
• Russian: мент (ment) — police officer (informal)
• Russian: ляга́вый (ljagávyj) — police officer (informal)
• Russian: лега́вый (legávyj) — police officer (informal)
• Russian: му́сор (músor) — police officer (informal)
• Russian: фарао́н (faraón) — police officer (informal)
• Russian: полица́й (policáj) — police officer (informal)
• Serbo-Croatian: pandur — police officer (informal)
• Sicilian: zaffu — police officer (informal)
• Slovak: poliš — police officer (informal)
• Slovak: hekáč — police officer (informal)
• Spanish: tombo — police officer (informal)
• Spanish: paco — police officer (informal)
• Spanish: paca — police officer (informal)
• Spanish: madero — police officer (informal)
• Spanish: pitufo — police officer (informal)
• Spanish: pitufa — police officer (informal)
• Spanish: picoleto — police officer (informal)
• Spanish: shafo — police officer (informal)
• Spanish: cuilío — police officer (informal)
• Spanish: tamarindo — police officer (informal)
• Swedish: snut — police officer (informal)
• Turkish: aynasız — police officer (informal)
• Turkish: dev — police officer (informal)
• Ukrainian: мент (ment) — police officer (informal)
• Vietnamese: cớm — police officer (informal)
• Yiddish: פּאָליציאַנט (politsyant) — police officer (informal)
• Yiddish: פּאָליציאַנטקע (politsyantke) — police officer (informal)
• Bulgarian: хва́щам (hváštam) — to capture, to take (informal)
• Bulgarian: хва́на (hvána) — to capture, to take (informal)
• Bulgarian: пи́пвам (pípvam) — to capture, to take (informal)
• Bulgarian: пи́пам (pípam) — to capture, to take (informal)
• Bulgarian: спи́пвам (spípvam) — to capture, to take (informal)
• Bulgarian: спи́пам (spípam) — to capture, to take (informal)
• Bulgarian: ге́пя (gépja) — to capture, to take (informal)
• Czech: sebrat — to capture, to take (informal)
• Finnish: napata — to capture, to take (informal)
• Finnish: ottaa — to capture, to take (informal)
• German: erlangen — to capture, to take (informal)
• German: holen — to capture, to take (informal)
• Greek: παίρνω (paírno) — to capture, to take (informal)
• Italian: afferrare — to capture, to take (informal)
• Italian: prendere — to capture, to take (informal)
• Italian: catturare — to capture, to take (informal)
• Italian: acciuffare — to capture, to take (informal)
• Russian: схвати́ть (sxvatítʹ) — to capture, to take (informal)
• Bulgarian: пое́мам (poémam) — to (be forced to) take; to receive; to shoulder; to bear, especially blame or punishment for a particular instance of wrongdoing
• Bulgarian: пое́ма (poéma) — to (be forced to) take; to receive; to shoulder; to bear, especially blame or punishment for a particular instance of wrongdoing
• Bulgarian: отмъ́квам (otmǎ́kvam) — to steal
• Bulgarian: отмъ́кна (otmǎ́kna) — to steal
• Bulgarian: ски́вам (skívam) — slang: to take a look
• Bulgarian: ски́вна (skívna) — slang: to take a look