The word cops has this derivation:
(1) It is an acronym for the Committee on Public Safety in France during the French Revolution.
(2) It refers to the copper badges worn by the first New York City policemen.
(3) It is based on a noun conversion of the popular slang word cop meaning "steal" (as in "cop a feel").
(4) The singular form is one half of an anagram of police, the other half being lie.
The winning answer will either or not, being all too human, allow for repetition, and may account for the twilight of idols that once were gods, in vino veritas, as in the "Filthy Lucre" chapter of Norman O. Brown's Life Against Death.
But you must also explain the relevance to this exercise of the illustration at the left. -- DL
