coop

Meanings

Noun

• A basket, pen or enclosure for birds or small animals.
• A wickerwork basket (kipe) or other enclosure for catching fish.
• A narrow place of confinement, a cage; a jail, a prison.
• A barrel or cask for holding liquids.
• A cart with sides and ends made from boards, enabling it to carry manure, etc.
• A cart which opens at the back to release its load; a tumbril.
• A small heap.
• Alternative of co-op.

Verb

• To keep in a coop.
• To shut up or confine in a narrow space; to cramp.
• To unlawfully confine one or more voters to prevent them from casting their ballots in an election.
• Of a police officer: to sleep or relax while on duty.
• To make or repair barrels, casks and other wooden vessels; to work upon in the manner of a cooper.

Related

Narrower meaning words

• chicken coop, hencoop, henhouse

Origin

• From , cupe, from or possibly from Middle Dutch cûpe (compare modern Dutch kuip, Saterland Frisian kupe, Middle Low German kûpe), from , côpa (compare Middle Low German kôpe, Old High German chôfa, chuofa, Middle High German kuofe, modern German Kufe ("cask (feminine)"), probably from , (thus a coupe, cup, and keeve). However, the Oxford English Dictionary notes that if the word is from Latin, “it is difficult to account for the umlaut in Old English cýpe”.
• Possibly from coop, above. Sense 2 may be from English coup ("to tilt, overturn, [[upset#Verb").
• Origin uncertain; compare English [[cop#Etymology 4.
• From cooperative, by shortening.