What is "coup d'oeil"

Coup \Coup\ (k[=oo]), n. [F., fr.L. colaphus a cuff, Gr. ko`lafos.]

1. A sudden stroke delivered with promptness and force; -- used also in various ways to convey the idea of an unexpected, clever, and successful tactic or stratagem.

2. A single roll of the wheel at roulette, or a deal at rouge et noir. [Cant]

3. Among some tribes of North American Indians especially of the Great Plains, the act of striking or touching an enemy in warfare with the hand or at close quarters, as with a short stick, in such a manner as by custom to entitle the doer to count the deed an act of bravery; hence, any of various other deeds recognized by custom as acts of bravery or honor. While the coup was primarily, and usually, a blow with something held in the hand, other acts in warfare which involved great danger to him who performed them were also reckoned coups by some tribes. --G. B. Grinnell. Among the Blackfeet the capture of a shield, bow, gun, war bonnet, war shirt, or medicine pipe was deemed a coup. --G. B. Grinnell. Coup de grace (k[=oo]` de gr[.a]s") [F.], the stroke of mercy with which an executioner ends by death the sufferings of the condemned; hence, a decisive, finishing stroke. Coup de main (k[=oo]` de m[a^]N") [F.] (Mil.), a sudden and unexpected movement or attack. Coup de soleil (k[=o]` de s[-o]*l[asl]l or -l[asl]"y') [F.] (Med.), a sunstroke. See Sunstroke. Coup d'['e]tat (k[=oo]" d[asl]*t[aum]") [F.] (Politics), a sudden, decisive exercise of power whereby the existing government is subverted without the consent of the people; an unexpected measure of state, more or less violent; a stroke of policy. Coup d'[oe]il (k[=oo]` d[~e]l"). [F.]

   1. A single view; a rapid glance of the eye; a comprehensive view of a scene; as much as can be seen at one view.

   2. The general effect of a picture.

   3. (Mil.) The faculty or the act of comprehending at a glance the weakness or strength of a military position, of a certain arrangement of troops, the most advantageous position for a battlefield, etc.

n. A glimpse, a glance; the ability, especially of a military officer, to understand much at a glance.

n. (alternative form of coup d'oeil English)

n. a quick look [syn: glance, glimpse]

Coup d'œil (or coup d'oeil; ) is a term taken from French, that more or less corresponds to the words glimpse or glance in English. The literal meaning is "stroke of [the] eye".

It is mostly used (in English) in a military context, where the coup d'œil refers to the ability to discern at one glance the tactical (dis)advantages of the terrain. For example, the famous king Frederick the Great of Prussia in his 1753 "Particular Instructions" devotes special attention to the military coup d'œil, defining it as:

[T]he perfection of that art to learn at one just and determined view the benefits and disadvantages of a country where posts are to be placed and how to act upon the annoyance of the enemy. This is, in a word, the true meaning of a coup d'œil, without which an officer may commit errors of the greatest consequence.

The phrase popularly comes from Clausewitz:

When all is said and done, it really is the commander's coup d'œil, his ability to see things simply, to identify the whole business of war completely with himself, that is the essence of good generalship. Only if the mind works in this comprehensive fashion can it achieve the freedom it needs to dominate events and not be dominated by them.

Napoleon remarked upon it:

There is a gift of being able to see at a glance the possibilities offered by the terrain...One can call it the coup d'œil militaire and it is inborn in great generals.

As did Folard and Liddell Hart:

The coup d'œil is a gift of God and cannot be acquired; but if professional knowledge does not perfect it, one can only see things imperfectly and in a fog, which is not enough in these matters where it is important to have a clear eye...To look over a battlefield, to take in at the first instance the advantages and disadvantages is the great quality of a general.

A vital faculty of generalship is the power of grasping instantly the picture of the ground and the situation, of relating one to the other, and the local to the general.

The coup d'œil remains important for officers in modern armies for the positioning of infantry, tanks, artillery etc. It is also important for snipers and when operating weapons like anti-tank weapons, in order to find good concealment, cover and a good field of fire.

In current-day French, the phrase simply means "glimpse." For example, it is often used in marketing materials in the same way that "At a glance..." is used in English to title a product summary.__NOTOC__