coup de grâce

English

Alternative forms

• coup de grace

Etymology

Late 17th century. Borrowed from French coup de grâce (“finishing blow”). Originally referring to a merciful stroke putting a fatally wounded person out of misery or to the shot delivered to the head of a prisoner after facing a firing squad.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kuː də ɡɹæs/
• (hyperforeign) IPA^(key): /kuː də ɡɹɑː/
• Rhymes: -ɑːs

Noun

coup de grâce (plural coups de grâce)

1. A final blow or shot given to kill a wounded person or animal.
   • 1889, Ambrose Bierce, The Coup de Grâce:

     The expression of his face was an appeal; his eyes were full of prayer. […] For what, indeed? For that which we accord to even the meanest creature without sense to demand it, denying it only to the wretched of our own race: for the blessed release, the rite of uttermost compassion, the coup de grâce.

2. (by extension) A remarkable finishing action.

Usage notes

Some speakers, aware that some final consonants are dropped in French, drop the final /s/ sound in grâce even though it is pronounced in French, making it sound like French coup de gras (“strike of fat”).

Translations

final blow

• Catalan: cop de gràcia m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 致命一擊, 致命一击 (zhìmìngyījī)

• Danish: nådestød n, dødsstød
• Dutch: genadeslag (nl)
• Finnish: armonisku, armonlaukaus
• French: coup de grâce (fr) m
• German: Gnadenschuss (de) m, Gnadenstoß (de) m
• Greek: χαριστική βολή f (charistikí volí)
• Hungarian: kegyelemdöfés (hu)
• Italian: colpo di grazia (it) m

• Japanese: please add this translation if you can
• Korean: please add this translation if you can
• Norwegian: nådestøt (no) n, nådeskudd n
• Polish: dobicie (pl) n
• Portuguese: golpe de misericórdia m
• Russian: уда́р милосе́рдия m (udár milosérdija), после́дний уда́р m (poslédnij udár), смерте́льный уда́р m (smertélʹnyj udár)
• Spanish: golpe de gracia m, tiro de gracia (es) m, puntilla (es)
• Swedish: nådastöt (sv) c
• Thai: please add this translation if you can
• Turkish: son darbe, öldürücü darbe
• Westrobothnian: dåvahågg n, bonastöng m

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French

Etymology

Literally "strike of mercy".

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ku də ɡʁɑs/

• Audio (FR)

  (file)

Noun

coup de grâce m (plural coups de grâce)

1. finishing blow

Descendants

• English: coup de grâce