I propose a new name for LEO, SotL

Actually, TriggerDr, I seem to recall from a long-ago CJ course in college that "cop" originated by the initials the old-time guys used on their reports and the documentation that they initialed as they went about their appointed rounds -- "constable on patrol" ...

Why not try an authoritative source. Dictionary.com presents dictionary entries from several different sources.

None of those sources mention the abbreviation. One mentions copper, the metal. Most trace the word back to other words, meaning to take or seize or arrest, and ultimately back to the Latin capere, meaning to take.

I tend to believe that explanation. When I was a child, we used the word as slang for take or steal more than we used it to mean a policeman.

Entymology.com says the "cop" is from a 1704 northern English dialect word for "to seize, or to catch" It was being used for a policeman in England by 1859.

Like "cop out" is to escape: "cop" is to "seize".

So, "cop" being used for a policeman probably comes from the policeman "seizing" the wanted man and bring him to the justice.

Originally Posted by Metalhead47
*groans*ok, it's official.
We really will argue about EVERYTHING here.

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NavyLT said:

No we won't!

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You boys stop arguing now and play nice. :lol:

BTW - that should be "anything" not "everything."

Citing the "Ultimate Authority" Wikipedia, here is the "straight poop":

Cop or Copper
While commonly believed to be an acronym for Constable On Patrol, the term refers to "one who captures or snatches". This word first appeared in the early 18th century, and can be matched with the word "cap", which has the same meaning and whose etymology can be traced to the Latin word 'capere'. (The word retains this meaning in other contexts: teenagers "cop a feel" on a date, and they have also been known to "cop an attitude".) Variation: Copper. It is also believed that the term Copper was the original, unshortened word, popularly believed to represent the copper badges American officers used to wear at the time of origin, but in fact probably used in Britain to mean "someone who cops" long before this. It is also believed to come from the Latin word 'Corpore' meaning body, i.e. a body of men

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Here's a complete(?) list of slang terms for police officers from around the world:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_slang_terms_for_police_officers

I do wonder how it could be complete however as it doesn't have some of the oft used 4-letter words. Must be the "Family Version".

Grapeshot said:

ok, it's official. We really will argue about EVERYTHING here.



You boys stop arguing now and play nice. :lol:

BTW - that should be "anything" not "everything."

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No, I mean EVERYTHING. It anything at one point, but the more individual things we argue about the closer it edges to, actually, EVERYTHING. :lol:

Dang nabbit - even the quotes got messed up.

We gotta he said/he said, no I didn't/yes you did thing going too. :banana:

Grapeshot said:

Dang nabbit - even the quotes got messed up.

We gotta he said/he said, no I didn't/yes you did thing going too. :banana:

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I know you are but what am I? :monkey

Metalhead47 said:

I know you are but what am I? :monkey

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On third?

Grapeshot said:

On third?

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Wait, then who's on first?

Metalhead47 said:

Wait, then who's on first?

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No Who's on second, What's on third and Nobody's on first - so the bases are loaded.

You do understand that, right?

Hey its been fun, but gotta run, What will the score me then.

Gonna get something to eat out and give thanks to all our service men and women that have made all of this possible.

hermannr said:

Hey Everyone: Because of several things I have read here, and on other forums, I was thinking we should maybe use different terminology for our friends in the law enforcement community, one that would better fit for their position.

You all remember the "old days" when they we called law enforcement, "peace officers" or "officers of the peace" indicating that their main job was to keep the peace in the community. "Peace officer" is a good term, but the acronym wouldn't be the best for understanding.

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It's still in use here in Colorado, both with the regular police forces as well as with auxiliary forces such as the Colorado Springs Rangers. All must attend P.O.S.T., which stands for Peace Officer Standards and Training.

This change in terminology would be a good reminder everyone that Law Enforcement is Not the "authority" of the law, but that the written law (The Washington State Constitution and the RCWs here in WA) is the "authority" they are the servants that are hired to "keep the peace" under the law that is written.

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Well, you're posting to all states in this particular section, so make it generic, please. In short, this section isn't Washington state. It's the United States.

I would propose we call all that we would call LEO to day..."Servants of the Law" from now on (an acronym could be SotL?),

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How long before that's modified by various levels of questionable media to SOL (s**t out of luck)?

...to better remind everyone that Law Enforcement personnel are "UNDER the law", just like every other citizen (person) in this country, and that they are not "the law".

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I dunno. I think "LEO" as in "Law Enforcement Officer" generally both defines his/her duties along with his/her responsibilities to the honest, law-abiding citizens whom they serve.

I'd like to remind folks that today is Memorial Day. It's about remembering many things, in this case, those who gave their lives in the service of their country. In the case of LEOs, it's about those who did the same in the service of their communities.

Their job is Law Enforcement. Their oath is commiserate with other officers' training and oaths, therefore, they rate the term "officer."

As a retired USAF officer (aka 20+ yrs), my input says the evolution of nomenclature within the civilian police ranks seems to have evolved quite well, and I support the term "LEO" aka "Law Enforcement Officer."

My only concern at this point is why they term anyone below the rank of LT as an "officer." In the late-1800s, such wasn't the case. Today they're calling Sgt's "police officers."

In that respect, I think a review is in order.

Whats wrong with calling them what the really are, revenue collectors?

jag06 said:

Whats wrong with calling them what the really are, revenue collectors?

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Because they're not. The policing system needs to be reformed, but they do have a necessary role in a free society. Seems to me that the "revenue collector" thing is just a cop-out from those who have difficulty following traffic laws...

eye95 said:

Why not try an authoritative source. Dictionary.com presents dictionary entries from several different sources.

None of those sources mention the abbreviation. One mentions copper, the metal. Most trace the word back to other words, meaning to take or seize or arrest, and ultimately back to the Latin capere, meaning to take.

I tend to believe that explanation. When I was a child, we used the word as slang for take or steal more than we used it to mean a policeman.

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And according to snopes that is where the term "cop" when referring to a LEO came from. "take and seize". http://www.snopes.com/language/acronyms/cop.asp

xxx.jakk.xxx said:

I would love to argue that magazines and clips are not the same thing, but people's mis-usage of the word so much has actually made "clip" mean the same as "magazine". It used to be that a Clip was something used for loading a magazine while a magazine was something used to feed the bullets into the chamber one by one. So a Stripped Clip would put the bullets into the AR-15 Magazine, then the Magazine would put the bullets into the Chamber as they're being fired. Moon Clips feed the Bullets into the Cylinder of a Revolver which is technically the Magazine of a Revolver as it moves the bullets, one by one, to the firing chamber.

But yeah, nowadays... Clip means magazine and Magazine means clip. I've learned to deal with hearing people use them interchangeably since I am actually the only person I know who actually knows of a difference between the two...

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I would like to point out that the m1 garand used an actual clip to hold the rounds in place and once the clip was empty it would eject the clip from the gun. In fact this was so widely known that both sides would exploit the distinctive noise.

Aknazer said:

I would like to point out that the m1 garand used an actual clip to hold the rounds in place and once the clip was empty it would eject the clip from the gun. In fact this was so widely known that both sides would exploit the distinctive noise.

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I would like to point out that it was a clip which was used to insert rounds into the magazine. I would also like to point out that this particular kind is called an "en bloc clip". clip = feed rounds into magazine, magazine = feed rounds into chamber via action. it is the same idea a stripper clip, just slightly different execution. clips do not have springs, followers, or baseplates, magazines do.