cope
pronunciation
How to pronounce cope in British English:
UK 
How to pronounce cope in American English:
US
Word Origin
- cope
- cope: There are two distinct words cope in English. The now more familiar one, ‘deal with’ [14], comes from Old French coper, and originally meant ‘hit, punch’. The Old French verb was a derivative of the noun cop ‘blow’, which in turn was a variant of colp (from which modern French gets coup, borrowed into English in the 18th century). This came via medieval Latin colpus (ultimate source of English coppice) and Latin colaphus from Greek kólaphos ‘blow, punch’.The modern English sense of the verb developed via ‘come to blows with’ and ‘contend with’ to ‘handle successfully’. Cope ‘cloak’ [13] was borrowed from medieval Latin cāpa, a variant of cappa, which produced English cap and cape as well as chapel and chaperone. It may ultimately be descended from Latin caput ‘head’.=> coppice, coup; cap, cape, chapel, chaperon
- cope (v.)
- late 14c., "come to blows with," from Old French couper, earlier colper "hit, punch," from colp "a blow" (see coup). Meaning evolved 17c. into "handle successfully," perhaps influenced by obsolete cope "to traffic" (15c.-17c.), a word in North Sea trade, from the Flemish version of the Germanic source of English cheap. Related: Coped; coping.
Example
- 1. It resists manipulation in many ways adapting to it or finding ways to cope .
- 2. These days there aren 't any bare arms around , but the locals know how to cope .
- 3. As corny and cliche as it sounds , you really have to learn how to cope because there is no going back .
- 4. The only way I can cope at home is to treat myself like a five-year-old and play at make-believe offices .
- 5. And she asked god to help her cope .