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'.