Coupé

A coupé (US coupe) (from the French past participle coupé, of the infinitive couper, to cut) is a closed two-door car body style with a permanently attached fixed roof, that is shorter than a sedan or saloon (British and Irish English) of the same model, and it often has seating for two persons or with a tight-spaced rear seat. The precise definition of the term varies between manufacturers and over time. The term was first applied to 19th-century carriages, where the rear-facing seats had been eliminated, or cut out.

Pronunciation

In most English-speaking countries, the French spelling coupé and anglicized pronunciation /kuːˈpeɪ/ koo-PAY are used. The stress may be equal or on either the first or second syllable; stressing the first syllable is the more anglicized variant. Most speakers of North American English spell the word without the acute accent and pronounce it as one syllable: /ˈkuːp/ KOOP. This change occurred gradually and before World War II. A North American example of usage is the hot rodders' term Deuce Coupe (DEWS KOOP) used to refer to a 1932 Ford; this pronunciation is used in the Beach Boys' 1963 hit song, "Little Deuce Coupe".

Coup d'état

A coup d'état (/ˌkuː deɪˈtɑː/  listen ; French: [ku deta], literally "blow of state"; plural: coups d'état, pronounced like the singular form), also known simply as a coup (/ˌkuː/), or an overthrow, is the sudden and illegal seizure of a state, usually instigated by a small group of the existing government establishment to depose the established regime and replace it with a new ruling body. A coup d'état is considered successful when the usurpers establish their dominance and legitimacy. If a coup fails, a civil war may ensue.

A coup d'état typically uses the extant government's power to assume political control of a country. In Coup d'État: A Practical Handbook, military historian Edward Luttwak states that a coup "consists of the infiltration of a small, but critical, segment of the state apparatus, which is then used to displace the government from its control of the remainder". The armed forces, whether military or paramilitary, can be a defining factor of a coup d'état.

Etymology

Coup contrecoup injury

In head injury, a coup injury occurs under the site of impact with an object, and a contrecoup injury occurs on the side opposite the area that was hit. Coup and contrecoup injuries are associated with cerebral contusions, a type of traumatic brain injury in which the brain is bruised. Coup and contrecoup injuries can occur individually or together. When a moving object impacts the stationary head, coup injuries are typical, while contrecoup injuries are produced when the moving head strikes a stationary object.

Coup and contrecoup injuries are considered focal brain injuries, those that occur in a particular spot in the brain, as opposed to diffuse injuries, which occur over a more widespread area.

The exact mechanism for the injuries, especially contrecoup injuries, is a subject of much debate. In general, they involve an abrupt deceleration of the head, causing the brain to collide with the inside of the skull. It is likely that inertia is involved in the injuries, e.g. when the brain keeps moving after the skull is stopped by a fixed object or when the brain remains still after the skull is accelerated by an impact with a moving object. Additionally, movement of cerebrospinal fluid following a trauma may play a role in the injury.