Coup d'etat
From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A coup d'état (sounds like "coo day ta"), or just coup ("coo") for short, is the sudden overthrow of (taking over from) a government. Unlike a revolution, which usually takes large numbers of people to take over, a coup can be done by a small number of people, or even one person, if they, for example, control the country's army.
The term is French for "a (sudden) blow (or stroke) to a state".
Informally coup is sometimes used to refer to takeovers, or wins, in places other than government, such as inside a corporation.
