Root Meaning: "To cop" traces back to the Old French word caper and the Latin capere, both meaning "to take" or "to seize" (an origin still seen in phrases like "cop a feel" or "a fair cop"). [1, 2, 3]
Becoming a Noun: By the mid-19th century (around 1844–1846), a person who did the seizing or arresting was called a "copper" (one who cops). [1, 2]
Shortening to "Cop": By 1859, the longer term "copper" was shortened in everyday speech to "cop," which became especially popular in the United States, while "copper" remained more common in the United Kingdom and Australia.
Root Meaning: "To cop" traces back to the Old French word caper and the Latin capere, both meaning "to take" or "to seize" (an origin still seen in phrases like "cop a feel" or "a fair cop"). [1, 2, 3]
Becoming a Noun: By the mid-19th century (around 1844–1846), a person who did the seizing or arresting was called a "copper" (one who cops). [1, 2]
Shortening to "Cop": By 1859, the longer term "copper" was shortened in everyday speech to "cop," which became especially popular in the United States, while "copper" remained more common in the United Kingdom and Australia.
