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Detective vs Cop - What's the difference?

detective | cop |

As nouns the difference between detective and cop

is that detective is a police officer who looks for evidence as part of solving a crime; an investigator while cop is a spider.

As a verb cop is

to obtain, to purchase (as in drugs), to get hold of, to take.

detective

English

(wikipedia detective)

Noun

(en noun)
  • (law enforcement) A police officer who looks for evidence as part of solving a crime; an investigator.
  • * {{quote-book, year=1928, author=Lawrence R. Bourne
    • , title=Well Tackled! , chapter=7 citation , passage=The detective kept them in view. He made his way casually along the inside of the shelter until he reached an open scuttle close to where the two men were standing talking. Eavesdropping was not a thing Larard would have practised from choice, but there were times when, in the public interest, he had to do it, and this was one of them.}}
  • A person employed to find information not otherwise available to the public.

    • Synonyms

    * (law enforcement) DT (abbreviation), Det (abbreviation) * (person employed to find information) private detective, private investigator * (person employed to find information) dick , private dick :(slang)

    Derived terms

    * (sense) detective constable (DC) * (sense) detective sergeant (DS) * (sense) detective inspector (DI) * (sense) detective chief inspector (DCI) * detective story * (sense) detective superintendent () * (sense) detective chief superintendent (DCS) * house detective * private detective * woman detective constable (WDC)

    Related terms

    * detect * detection * detector

    cop

    English

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl) coppe, from (etyl) . More at (l).

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (obsolete) A spider.

    • Etymology 2

    Possibly from (etyl) , from (etyl) kapia, to buy.

    Verb

    (copp)
  • to obtain, to purchase (as in drugs), to get hold of, to take
  • * 2005 , Martin Torgoff, Can't Find My Way Home , Simon & Schuster, page 10:
    • Heroin appeared on the streets of our town for the first time, and Innie watched helplessly as his sixteen-year-old brother began taking the train to Harlem to cop smack.
  • to (be forced to) take; to receive; to shoulder; to bear, especially blame or punishment for a particular instance of wrongdoing.
    • When caught, he would often cop a vicious blow from his father
  • to steal
  • to adopt
    • No need to cop an attitude with me, junior.
  • to admit, especially to a crime.
    • I already copped to the murder. What else do you want from me?
    Harold copped to being known as "Dirty Harry".
  • *
    • Derived terms
    * cop a feel * cop a plea * cop off * cop on * cop out, cop-out

    Etymology 3

    Short for above, i.e. a criminal.

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (slang, law enforcement) A police officer or prison guard.
    • Synonyms
    * See also

    Etymology 4

    (etyl) cop, copp, from (etyl) . Cognate with Dutch kop, German Kopf.

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (crafts) The ball of thread wound on to the spindle in a spinning machine.
  • (obsolete) The top, summit, especially of a hill.
  • * Drayton
    • Cop they used to call / The tops of many hills.
  • (obsolete) The head.
  • A tube or quill upon which silk is wound.
  • (architecture, military) A merlon.

    • Anagrams

    *

    References

    *

    See also

    * not much cop ----