cope Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun brick that is laid sideways at the top of a wall
    coping; header.
  2. noun a long cloak; worn by a priest or bishop on ceremonial occasions
  3. verb come to terms with
    contend; deal; manage; get by; grapple; make out; make do.
    • We got by on just a gallon of gas
    • They made do on half a loaf of bread every day

WordNet

Cope noun
Etymology
A doublet of cape. See Cape, Cap.
Definitions
  1. A covering for the head. Obs. Johnson.
  2. Anything regarded as extended over the head, as the arch or concave of the sky, the roof of a house, the arch over a door. "The starry cope of heaven." Milton.
  3. An ecclesiastical vestment or cloak, semicircular in form, reaching from the shoulders nearly to the feet, and open in front except at the top, whereit is united by a band or clasp. It is worn in processions and on some other occasions. Piers plowman.
    A hundred and sixty priests all in their copes. Bp. Burnet.
  4. An ancient tribute due to the lord of the soil, out of the lead mines in derbyshire, England.
  5. (Founding) The top part of a flask or mold; the outer part of a loam mold. Knight. De Colange.
Cope intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. To form a cope or arch; to bend or arch; to bow. Obs.
    Some bending down and coping to ward the earth. Holland.
Cope transitive verb
Definitions
  1. (Falconry) To pare the beak or talons of (a hawk). J. H. Walsh.
Cope intransitive verb
Etymology
OE. copen, coupen, to buy, bargain, prob. from D. koopen to buy, orig., to bargain. See Chear.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Coped ; present participle & verbal noun Coping
Definitions
  1. To exchange or barter. Obs. Spenser.
  2. To encounter; to meet; to have to do with.
    Horatio, thou art e'en as just a man As e'er my conversation coped withal. Shak.
  3. To enter into or maintain a hostile contest; to struggle; to combat; especially, to strive or contend on equal terms or with success; to match; to equal; -- usually followed by with.
    Host coped with host, dire was the din of war. Philips.
    Their generals have not been able to cope with the troops of Athens. Addison.
Cope transitive verb
Definitions
  1. To bargain for; to buy. Obs.
  2. To make return for; to requite; to repay. Obs.
    three thousand ducats due unto the Jew, We freely cope your courteous pains withal. Shak.
  3. To match one's self against; to meet; to encounter.
    I love to cope him in these sullen fits. Shak.
    They say he yesterday coped Hector in the battle, and struck him down. Shak.

Webster 1913