Third-person singular present tense of 'cope': to deal with or handle something difficult; to manage or contend with.
From Old French 'couper' (to strike or hit), ultimately from Latin roots. The meaning evolved from the physical act of striking to the mental/emotional act of dealing with challenges.
The phrase 'cope with' entered English around the 15th century and shows how our ancestors understood emotional resilience—they used a fighting metaphor (striking/hitting) to describe how we wrestle with problems, which neuroscience confirms: our brains literally activate 'fight' responses when coping with stress.
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