putsch
/pʊtʃ
/noun
A violent attempt to overthrow a government; a coup.In Caracas, the elected president is a Castroite who earlier attempted a beer-hall putsch and is busily immiserating his middle class....
- Whether this would be achieved by popular uprising or a putsch by a few well placed individuals with Western backing has yet to be seen.
- Not a few thought that the Herut might mount a putsch.
Derivatives
putschist
- This deprived the putschists of a constitutional fig-leaf to cover their seizure of power.
- Before Owen there were millennarians and utopians, prophets and putschists.
- The putschists wasted no time in sending aerial-amphibian troops to Estonia to reinforce the Soviet army forces garrisoned there.
Origin
Early 20th century: from Swiss German, literally 'thrust, blow'.
Rhymes
- Semipalatinsk
- semipalmated
- semi-Pelagian
- semi-Pelagianism
- semi-permanent
- semi-permanently
- semipermeable
- semi-precious
- semiprivate
- semi-pro
- semi-professional
- semi-prone position
- semiquaver
- semiquinone
- Semiramis
- semi-retired
- semi-retirement
- semi-rigid
- semi-skilled
- semi-skimmed
- semi-solid
- semispecies
- semi-submersible
- semisweet
- semi-synthetic