cope 1
(kōp)intr.v. coped,
cop·ing,
copes 1. To contend or strive, especially on even terms or with success: coping with child-rearing and a full-time job.
2. To contend with difficulties and act to overcome them: "Facing unprecedented problems, the Federal Reserve of the early 1930s couldn't cope" (Robert J. Samuelson).
[Middle English copen, coupen, to strike, from Old French couper, from Vulgar Latin *colpāre, from Late Latin colpus, blow; see coup.]
cop′er n.
cope 2
(kōp)n.1. A long ecclesiastical vestment worn over an alb or surplice.
2. A covering resembling a cloak or mantle.
3. A coping.
tr.v. coped,
cop·ing,
copes 1. To cover or dress in a cope.
2. To provide with coping: cope a wall.
[Middle English cope, from Old English -cāp, from Medieval Latin cāpa, cloak, from Late Latin cappa.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.