• @problematicPanther
    link
    31 year ago

    i really want this to be the correct etymological origin of the word cop

      • @[email protected]
        link
        fedilink
        101 year ago

        It is short for copper, but not the metal.
        “To cop” means “to arrest or detain” someone. So a “copper” is someone who cops people.

        You may be familiar with the phrase “that’s a fair cop”. Which would be an admission that the arrest is fair.

      • @problematicPanther
        link
        31 year ago

        i read that it’s from the archaic verb “cop” which means “to seize”, so the old brits used to call them coppers, then that got shortened to cop, and it’s still in use today.