# Origin of the term "cop" for police officers. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 12, 2001, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-term-cop-for-police-officers/61657 "2001-04-12T00:42:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![zen101](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c68b51/32.png) [@zen101](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zen101)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2001, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-term-cop-for-police-officers/61657/1 "2001-04-12T00:42:59Z")
Just a WAG but all I could come up with was something along the lined of “civil ordinance patrol”, but that is indeed a WAG and I would be surprised if it was even close, which begs the question: What really is the origin of the term “COP” when referring to a police officer? ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2001, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-term-cop-for-police-officers/61657/2 "2001-04-12T00:47:40Z")
My understanding is that their badges (in England?) were once made of copper, and so they were called “coppers,” later shortened to “cop.” You could try a Google search for “cop police slang badge copper” or some such – I’m pretty busy at the moment. (Although obviously not too busyt to be surfing the Dope as I work, heh heh . . . ) ---
**Author:** ![insider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/bbe5ce/32.png) [@insider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/insider)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2001, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-term-cop-for-police-officers/61657/3 "2001-04-12T00:50:55Z")
I thought that it had to do with the copper buttons on their uniforms. ---
**Author:** ![Tequila\_Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/41988e/32.png) [@Tequila\_Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tequila_Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2001, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-term-cop-for-police-officers/61657/4 "2001-04-12T00:53:35Z")
I heard the same bit of trivia a few years ago about how the badges, buttons and other hardware of police, especially New York and Chicago were made of copper. “Yewl never take me alive coppers, see? Mugsy, watch the back. See coppers, come any closer and da dame gets it, see” ---
**Author:** ![msc75](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bc79bd/32.png) [@msc75](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msc75)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2001, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-term-cop-for-police-officers/61657/5 "2001-04-12T00:53:52Z")
How about Citizens on Patrol? ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2001, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-term-cop-for-police-officers/61657/6 "2001-04-12T00:58:31Z")
Whaddya know, the question bugged me enough to take a break and surf some more. Most of the sources I found seemed to agree with [Michael Quinion,](http://www.quinion.com/words/qa/qa-cop2.htm) who coincidentally occasionally drops in at my other virtual water cooler (for copyeditors). ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2001, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-term-cop-for-police-officers/61657/7 "2001-04-12T03:27:44Z")
**Scarlett’s** link gives the correct info. All of the words _cop, copper, etc_ relating to the police appear in print around the 1840’s. Certainly nothing to do with the composition of badges, etc. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2001, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-term-cop-for-police-officers/61657/8 "2001-04-12T19:59:04Z")
According to Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, the word may be related to the Latrin word capere, which is where we get the word capture. According to something else I read (no cite, sorry) the idea that it means Citizen On Patrol is just a rumor. ---
**Author:** ![Spritle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Spritle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spritle)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2001, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-term-cop-for-police-officers/61657/9 "2001-04-13T00:09:08Z")
For some reason, I always thought it was from **C** onstable **O** n **P** atrol, from the Bobbies in England. Hey, why are they called Bobbies anyway? ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2001, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-term-cop-for-police-officers/61657/10 "2001-04-13T18:29:22Z")
Theyre called bobbies after the creator of the first police force Robert Peel