The word 'cop' is a loan word from Latin 'capere'

'Cop' is a word borrowed from Latin 'capere'. The word entered the English language some time before the 12th century.

cop [noun] [before 12th century]

• top
• a cylindrical or conical mass of thread, yarn, or roving wound on a quill or tube
• a quill or tube upon which it is wound

Meaning: top crest; a cylindrical or conical mass of thread; yarn; or roving wound on a quill or tube; a quill or tube upon which it is wound.

Etymology: Middle English; from Old English copp.

Topics: Law:Government.

Origin: From Latin to English.

note: Slang for a police officer derived from the 18th-century verb cop meaning to seize or catch (from the Latin capere). An officer who caught criminals was originally called a copper—a term later shortened to cop.

See 'cop' on the Loan Words Map

See more loan words from Latin.

See more loan words from before 1200.