English
recoup
Recoup comes from French recouper ‘cut short’, and goes back to Old French coper.
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400coper‘to cut off’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentcouper‘to cut, cut up’
- French, derivedc. 1600–presentrecouper‘cut short’
- Englishearliest quotation 1856–1870recoup
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400coper‘to cut off’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentcouper‘to cut, cut up’
- French, derivedc. 1600–presentrecouper‘cut short’
- Englishearliest quotation 1856–1870recoup
Earliest quotation: 1856–1870, James Anthony Froude, London: Longmans: “Elizabeth had lost her venture; but if she was…”
Linked words
through Old French coper ‘to cut off’
through French couper ‘to cut, cut up’
Today it means
verb To make back (an investment or similar).
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Old French coper / recoup