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Dec 8, 2020 · cop (v.)"to seize, to catch, capture or arrest as a prisoner," 1704, northern British dialect, of uncertain origin; perhaps ultimately from French caper "seize, to take," from Latin capere "to take" (from PIE root *kap-"to grasp"); or from Dutch kapen "to take," from Old Frisian capia "to buy," which is related to Old English ceapian (see cheap).
May 3, 2007 · The slang police term 'cop' derives from an acronym for the phrase 'constable on patrol.' Rating: False. About this rating. There is something intrinsically pleasing to the notion...
Dec 6, 2023 · Jacom Stephens/Vetta/Getty Images. Use of the term “cop” to refer to a police officer came about because a “copper” is someone who captures or seizes something in English slang. The word “cop” came to mean apprehension in the mid-19th century, and since police officers often capture or seize criminals, English officers came to be ...
Nov 29, 2018 · Via French, cop ultimately comes the Latin capere, or “to seize, snatch, take, grab.” Cop became slang for “seizing” in the early 1700s. This verb may have given rise to copper, thieves’ slang for “law enforcement” by the 1840s and shortened to cop by the 1850s.
Jul 25, 2020 · It comes from the English dialectal verb to cop, meaning to grab or seize. Thus, a copper or cop is one who makes arrests. The verb ultimately comes from the Latin capere, meaning to seize, to grasp.
May 31, 2005 · The most likely explanation is that it comes from the verb “to cop” meaning to seize, capture, or snatch, dating from just over a century earlier (1704). The derivation of the verb is unclear. Most authorities trace it to the French caper and before that to the Latin capere, to seize, take. Other English words derived from capere include capture.
May 16, 2024 · Police officers are often referred to as cops, but the origins of this nickname are something of a debate. It is known that, up until the 1970s, "cop" was something of a slang term, and one would refer to law enforcement officials more properly as policemen.
