Plural of coup; sudden, violent, and illegal seizures of power from a government, or brilliant and unexpected successes.
From French 'coup' (stroke, blow), shortened from 'coup d'état' (literally 'stroke of state'). From Latin 'colpus' meaning 'blow' or 'strike.'
The word 'coup' became famous during the Cold War when dictators would suddenly overthrow governments overnight—it's basically political chess at its most dramatic!
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