FREE! Click here to Join FunTrivia. Thousands of games, quizzes, and lots more!
Fun Trivia
Home: Questions and Answers Forum
Answers to 100,000 Fascinating Questions
Welcome to FunTrivia's Question & Answer forum!

Search All Questions


Please cite any factual claims with citation links or references from authoritative sources. Editors continuously recheck submissions and claims.

Archived Questions

Goto Qn #


Where did the term "cop" originate when referring to a police officer?

Question #51093. Asked by peasypod.
Last updated Aug 21 2016.

Related Trivia Topics: Linguistics  
Brainyblonde
Answer has 10 votes
Currently Best Answer
Brainyblonde
23 year member
1455 replies

Answer has 10 votes.

Currently voted the best answer.
Several popular etymologies, all certainly false, exist for this word meaning policeman. One says that it is an acronym standing for Constable On Patrol. Another says that the first policemen in London (or another city--it varies in the telling) had copper buttons on their uniforms. Yet another says that it was not buttons, but a copper badge that gave them the name.
While the ultimate origin is disputed, most authorities agree that it is a shortening of copper. Cop was first used in 1859 and copper predates it from 1846. Copper, as slang for policeman, derives from the verb to cop, which dates from 1704 and means to catch. The OED2 notes that an 1864 newspaper stated that people would exhibit a copper coin as they passed a policeman, in effect calling them copper. This may have been the beginning of the confusion with the metal copper.
The ultimate origin of the verb copper is disputed. It either derives from the Dutch kapen, meaning to take. This in turn comes from the Old Frisian capia, meaning to buy. The other choice is that it derives from the French caper, to take, and ultimately from the Latin capere.
link http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2209/why-are-the-police-called-cops-pigs-or-the-fuzz
link http://orvillejenkins.com/words/cops.html

Response last updated by LadyNym on Aug 21 2016.
Sep 23 2004, 10:34 AM
free email trivia FREE! Get a new mixed Fun Trivia quiz each day in your email. It's a fun way to start your day!


arrow Your Email Address:

Sign in or Create Free User ID to participate in the discussion

Related FunTrivia Quizzes

play quiz To Whom is V Referring?
(V for Vendetta .)
play quiz What Am I Referring To?
(Europe - Cities)
play quiz Similes Referring to Animals
(Animals in Idiom)

Return to FunTrivia
"Ask FunTrivia" strives to offer the best answers possible to trivia questions. We ask our submitters to thoroughly research questions and provide sources where possible. Feel free to post corrections or additions. This is server B184.