le
masculine
/flik/
#481 of 5,000 Core 1000
Translation
cop
Word origin
A 19th-century slang term for a policeman of uncertain origin. It is most often linked to the German Fliege ('fly') used in old criminal argot for a police informer, possibly via Yiddish; the connection remains debated.
- Origin
- uncertain
Other proposed origins
- Often derived from German Fliege ('fly'), a slang term for a police spy, perhaps through Yiddish. (Fliege)
- Some accounts treat it as a purely French argot coinage of obscure formation.
Grammar
Gendermasculine
Pluralflics
Examples
.
The cops turned up in under five minutes.
voisin .
My neighbour has been a cop for fifteen years.
.
There were cops everywhere in the street.
civil surveillait l' .
A plain-clothes cop was watching the entrance to the building.
.
The cops arrived too late at the scene.
Add to review queue
Track this word in your spaced-repetition queue and be tested on it at the right interval.
Go to my review queueThis word is part of lesson 10.