English Rewind - News Words: Coup

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in February 2010 on the BBC Learning English website.

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News Words from the BBC.

Here's Clare Arthurs with the word 'coup'.

A 'coup' is an unexpected but successful transfer of power.

It refers to an attempt to take power from a government or regime,

often by military force.

When the people who organise a coup — the 'coup plotters' —

are from the military or armed forces,

you might hear the term 'military-backed coup'.

The organisers of an attempted coup are also described as being 'behind the coup'.

They plan or plot to overthrow a government. Here's an example.

A British businessman has been back in court in South Africa

answering questions about a failed coup plot in Equatorial Guinea.

A coup might be 'bloody', involving fighting, or 'bloodless', without killing.

Here's an example.

The Pakistani leader Pervez Musharraf came to power in a bloodless coup in 1999.

His was a successful coup.

Others are unsuccessful — 'a failed coup' or 'a coup attempt'.

Some other terms you might hear are 'stage a coup',

'rebellion', 'overthrow' and 'remove'.

You may also hear the full French term 'coup d'état'.

The plural of 'coup' is 'coups'.

Now listen to this example about the killing of a rebel leader

which is a different use of the word 'coup'.

The Russian government,

which holds him responsible for a series of deadly attacks on civilians,

says his killing is a major coup.

This use for 'coup' is to indicate

that something which has taken place is a victory or triumph.

That was News Words from BBC Learning English dot com.