Etymology : Middle English, from Old English -cAp, from Late Latin cappa head covering
Pronunciation : kOp
Function : noun
Date : 13th century
1. ceremonial robe worn by a priest; any long cloak-like covering; vault, canopy; sky. manage in spite of difficulty; struggle successfully. cope\cope\, v. i. to form a cope or arch; to bend or arch; to bow. [obs.] some bending down and coping toward the earth.cope \cope\, v. t. (falconry) to pare the beak or talons of (a hawk). h. walsh.cope \cope\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. coped (kōpt); p. pr. & vb. n. coping.] [oe. copen, coupen, to buy, bargain, prob. from d. koopen to buy, orig., to bargain. see:
cheap.].
2. to exchange or barter. [obs.].
3. to encounter; to meet; to have to do with. horatio, thou art e'en as just a man as e'er my conversation coped withal.
4. to enter into or maintain a hostile contest; to struggle; to combat; especially, to strive or contend on equal terms or with success; to match; to equal; -- usually followed by with. host coped with host, dire was the din of war. ips. their generals have not been able to cope with the troops of athens.cope \cope\ (kōp), n. [a doublet of cape. see:
cape, cap.].
5. a covering for the head. [obs.].
6. anything regarded as extended over the head, as the arch or concave of the sky, the roof of a house, the arch over a door. "the starry cope of heaven.".
7. an ecclesiastical vestment or cloak, semicircular in form, reaching from the shoulders nearly to the feet, and open in front except at the top, where it is united by a band or clasp. it is worn in processions and on some other occasions. a hundred and sixty priests all in their copes. burnet.
8. an ancient tribute due to the lord of the soil, out of the lead mines in derbyshire, england.
9. (founding) the top part of a flask or mold; the outer part of a loam mold. de colange.cope \cope\, v. t.
10. to bargain for; to buy. [obs.].
11. to make return for; to requite; to repay. [obs.] three thousand ducats due unto the jew, we freely cope your courteous pains withal.
12. to match one's self against; to meet; to encounter. i love to cope him in these sullen fits. they say he yesterday coped hector in the battle, and struck him down.cope brick that is laid sideways at the top of a wall [syn: header, coping] come to terms or deal successfully with; "we got by on just a gallon of gas"; "they made do on half a loaf of bread every day" [syn: get by, make out, make do, contend, grapple, deal, manage].
13. A covering for the head.
14. Anything regarded as extended over the head, as the arch or concave of the sky, the roof of a house, the arch over a door.
15. An ecclesiastical vestment or cloak, semicircular in form, reaching from the shoulders nearly to the feet, and open in front except at the top, where it is united by a band or clasp.
16. It is worn in processions and on some other occasions.
17. An ancient tribute due to the lord of the soil, out of the lead mines in Derbyshire, England.
18. The top part of a flask or mold; the outer part of a loam mold.
19. To form a cope or arch; to bend or arch; to bow.
20. To pare the beak or talons of.
21. To exchange or barter.
22. To encounter; to meet; to have to do with.
23. To enter into or maintain a hostile contest; to struggle; to combat; especially, to strive or contend on equal terms or with success; to match; to equal; usually followed by with.
24. To bargain for; to buy.
25. To make return for; to requite; to repay.
26. To match one's self against; to meet; to encounter. come to terms or deal successfully with; "We got by on just a gallon of gas"; "They made do on half a loaf of bread every day".
27. 1. If you cope with a problem or task, you deal with it successfully. It was amazing how my mother coped with bringing up three children on less than three pounds a week The problems were an annoyance, but we managed to cope. = manage.
28. If you have to cope with an unpleasant situation, you have to accept it or bear it. She has had to cope with losing all her previous status and money. = contend.
29. If a machine or a system can cope with something, it is large enough or complex enough to deal with it satisfactorily. New blades have been designed to cope with the effects of dead insects The speed of economic change has been so great that the tax-collecting system has been unable to cope. a long loose piece of clothing worn by priests on special occasions.