Cop – word origin

The identifier „Cop“ for a police officer is ubiquitious in US-TV-crime shows. Not all watchers, however, may know what it acutally stands for.

The term Cop is an abbreviation for „constable of peace„. The word „constable“ itself has Latin roots meaning something like „the guy with the stick„. (cum stabulum)
Stick referring to a policeman’s baton which in UK still is the only weapon to enforce law and order. In the US, however, nowadays it doesn’t serve much more than as a symbol of power.

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