Cops
/kɒps/noun
Informal term for police officers.
Did you know?The term 'cops' is derived from the 19th-century slang 'to cop', meaning to capture or seize, linking it to the act of apprehending criminals.
Etymological Timeline
Latin
Latin
capere
“to seize or take”
Old French
Old French
coper
“to cut off or seize”
Early 19th Century
English
cop
“to capture or arrest”
19th Century
English
cops
“slang for police officers, derived from 'cop'”