coup de grâce
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English[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
Etymology[edit]
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[edit]
Noun[edit]
coup de grâce (plural coups de grâce)
- 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.
- (by extension) A remarkable finishing action.
Usage notes[edit]
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[edit]
final blow
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French[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Literally "strike of mercy".
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
coup de grâce m (plural coups de grâce)
- finishing blow
Descendants[edit]
- English: coup de grâce
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