Obs. Forms: 4–5 culpoun, coulpon, 4– culpon, (5 colpon, 6 culpown, -in, -yn; Sc. 6–7 cowpon, coupon, 9 coopin. [a. OF. colpon, coulpon, copon, now coupon, cutting, cut, slice, piece, portion, f. colper, coper, couper to cut. The same word has been adopted from mod.Fr. in a special sense as COUPON.]
A piece cut off, a cutting; a portion, strip, slice, bit, shred.
c. 1386. Chaucer, Prol., 679. This Pardoner hadde heer as yelow as wex … But thynne it lay by colpons [v.r. culpouns] oon and oon.
c. 1400. Ywaine & Gaw., 642. Alto peces thai hewed thair sheldes, The culpons flegh out in the feldes.
c. 1450. Two Cookery-bks., 89. Take eles … and choppe hem in faire colpons.
1548. Hall, Chron. (1809), 635. Velvet embroudered with sundery knottes and culpyns of golde.
1563. Winȝet, Four Scoir Thre Quest., § 5, margin. Quhen thai cleik fra ws twa coupounis of our crede, tyme is to speik.
1590. Bruce, Serm. Sacr., B viij a. Suppose thou get a cowpon of him [thy sauior] in the sacrament, that cowpon wald do thee na good.
1825. Jamieson, Cowpon … in pl., shatters, shivers: pronounced coopins.
