coupon
[ koo-pon, kyoo- ]
/ ˈku pɒn, ˈkyu- /
noun
a portion of a certificate, ticket, label, advertisement, or the like, set off from the main body by dotted lines or the like to emphasize its separability, entitling the holder to something, as a gift or discount, or for use as an order blank, a contest entry form, etc.
a separate certificate, ticket, etc., for the same purpose.
Finance.
one of a number of small detachable certificates calling for periodic interest payments on a bearer bond.
Compare coupon bond.
Metallurgy.
a sample of metal or metalwork submitted to a customer or testing agency for approval.
Origin of coupon
1815–25; < French; Old French
colpon piece cut off, equivalent to
colp(er) to cut (see
cope1) +
-on noun suffix
pronunciation note for coupon
Coupon, related to
cope and
coup, is of French origin. It has developed an American pronunciation variant
[kyoo-pon] /ˈkyu pɒn/ with an unhistorical
y -sound not justified by the spelling. This pronunciation is used by educated speakers and is well-established as perfectly standard, although it is sometimes criticized. Its development may have been encouraged by analogy with words like
curious, cupid, and
cute, where
c is followed by a “long
u ” and the
[y] /y/ is mandatory.
OTHER WORDS FROM coupon
cou·pon·less, adjectiveWords nearby coupon
coupledom,
coupler,
couples therapy,
couplet,
coupling,
coupon,
coupon bond,
coupon clipper,
coupon rate,
couponer,
couponing
Example sentences from the Web for coupon
British Dictionary definitions for coupon
coupon
/ (ˈkuːpɒn) /
noun
- a detachable part of a ticket or advertisement entitling the holder to a discount, free gift, etc
- a detachable slip usable as a commercial order form
- a voucher given away with certain goods, a certain number of which are exchangeable for goods offered by the manufacturers
one of a number of detachable certificates attached to a bond, esp a bearer bond, the surrender of which entitles the bearer to receive interest payments
one of several detachable cards used for making hire-purchase payments
a ticket issued to facilitate rationing
British
a detachable entry form for any of certain competitions, esp football pools
Word Origin for coupon
C19: from French, from Old French
colpon piece cut off, from
colper to cut, variant of
couper; see
cope
1