coupstick · noun — A stick or switch used among some Native Americans for making or counting a coup. It carries an Arena rating of 1273, earned across 56 head-to-head judged battles.
Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, coupstick ranks #504 of 17,174 for Funniest Words, #2,326 of 17,153 for The Improbable, #3,007 of 17,115 for Most Storied Words, #3,021 of 17,158 for Most Exacting Words.
Why “coupstick” is a great word
COUPSTICK — [Noun] A ceremonial stick or switch used among Plains peoples to physically touch an enemy in battle, an act of supreme bravery known as counting coup. From coup (from French coup, "blow, stroke," specifically in the context of counting coup) + stick. Unlike a "war club," engineered for lethal force, or a "tally stick," a utilitarian record of quantity, the coupstick is an instrument of audacious restraint—a weapon that renounces wounding, a record that inscribes honor with a moment, not a notch. It is the feathered wand brushing a rival's shoulder in the chaos of the charge, the deliberate forgoing of a lethal strike, the polished wood returned unbloodied to its sheath. In its use, violence is transmuted into story, and the greatest blow is the one withheld.
❧ Essay by Lexicurio’s AI · definition, etymology & citations from published sources
Etymology
From coup + stick.
noun
- A stick or switch used among some Native Americans for making or counting a coup.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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