Editing Coupe (section)

== Etymology and pronunciation {{anchor|Name|Etymology|Pronuncation}} ==
{{lang|fr|Coupé}} ({{IPA|fr|kupe}}) is based on the [[past participle]] of the French verb {{lang|fr|couper}} ("to cut") and thus indicates a car which has been "cut" or made shorter than standard.<ref name="Coachbuilt"/> It was first applied to [[horse]]-drawn [[carriage]]s for two passengers without rear-facing seats.<ref name="Adolphus"/> These {{lang|fr|berlines coupées}}<ref name="HaajCoupe">{{cite book |last=Haajanen |first=Lennart W. |others=Illustrations by Bertil Nydén |year= 2003 |title= Illustrated Dictionary of Automobile Body Styles |publisher=McFarland |isbn= 0-7864-1276-3 |lccn= 2002014546 |pages= 16, 18, 20, 50}}</ref> or {{lang|fr|carrosses coupés}} ("clipped carriages") were eventually [[clipping (phonetics)|clipped]] to {{lang|fr|coupés}}.<ref name=oed>{{citation |contribution=coupé, n.3 |contribution-url= https://oed.com/view/Entry/43120 |date=1893 |title=Oxford English Dictionary |publisher=Oxford University Press}}.</ref>

There are two common pronunciations in English:
* {{IPAc-en|k|uː|ˈ|p|eɪ}} ({{respell|koo|PAY}}) – the [[Anglicisation|anglicized]] version of the French pronunciation of ''coupé''.
* {{IPAc-en|k|uː|p}} ({{respell|KOOP}}) – as a [[spelling pronunciation]] when the word is written without an accent.<ref name=oed/><ref>{{citation |contribution=coupé |url= https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/coupe |title=Merriam-Webster Dictionary |publisher=Merriam-Webster |access-date=30 August 2020}} and pronounced as one syllable.</ref> This is the usual pronunciation and spelling in the United States and much of Canada,<ref>{{cite web|title=Porsche Actually Made a Video on How to Pronounce Its Name|url= https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/videos/a31871/porsche-actually-made-a-video-on-how-to-pronounce-its-name/ |website=roadandtrack.com|date= 9 December 2016 |access-date=13 April 2018}}</ref> with the pronunciation entering American vernacular no later than 1936<ref>{{cite book|first=Henry L. |last=Mencken |year=1936 |title=The American Language |url= https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.169487 |edition=4th |page=[https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.169487/page/n369 347] |quote=I have... heard... coop for coupé |author-link=H. L. Mencken }}</ref> and featuring in the Beach Boys' hit 1963 song "[[Little Deuce Coupe (song)|Little Deuce Coupe]]".