Contrecoups

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Injury occurring on the opposite side of the initial impact, especially in relation to trauma to the brain
2. A secondary injury resulting from the violent motion of hitting an object, particularly seen in closed head injuries
3. Damage that takes place on the far side of an impact site, frequently relevant in discussions of concussions and other head traumas

Etymology: The plural "contrecoups" is the form of "contrecoup," a noun borrowed from French, where it combined "contre," meaning "against," from Latin "contra," with "coup," meaning "a blow." Its literal sense is a counter-blow: the force of a strike rebounding against the opposite side of the thing struck. Medicine adopted the French term for the brain injury that occurs when the head stops suddenly and the brain slams into the skull on the side opposite the impact. A blow to the front of the head can therefore bruise the back of the brain, which is why the term is especially associated with concussion and other head trauma. The word's core idea is reaction rather than direct contact. Its parts literally describe a blow that strikes back, and the medical sense keeps that picture: the injury appears at a distance from where the force first landed.