Why are the Police called Cops?
Police officers are often referred to as cops, but the word origins of cop are something of a debate. It is known that up until the 1970s, cop was something of a slang term, and one would refer to cops more properly as policemen, or police officers. Some argue that the term cop is shortened from “copper” and derives from the tin or copper badges worn by a policeman. Others say cop is an abbreviation for constabulary of police. General consensus on the word origins of cop however suggest that the term is based more on the policeman’s job than on his clothing or job title. In Latin the verb capere can be defined as “to capture.” In French, the verb is caper. “To cop” in English is to seize or to take. This defines some of what a police officer does. He or she seizes or takes crooks or stops their crime “capers.” Some also believe that the Dutch word kapen, which also loosely translates to “to steal or take,” is related to policemen being called coppers or cops. Essentially the police for
