Coup de grâce Coup de grâce A coup de grâce (; French for "blow of mercy") is a death blow to end the suffering of a severely wounded person or animal. It may be a mercy killing of civilians or soldiers, friends or enemies, with or without the sufferer's consent. Examples of "coup de grâce" include shooting the heart or head (typically the back of the skull) of a wounded, but still living, person during an execution or by humanely killing a suffering, mortally wounded soldier, in war, for whom medical aid is not available. In pre-firearms eras the wounded were finished with
Soldier Soldier A soldier is one who fights as part of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, or an officer. The word "soldier" derives from the Middle English word "soudeour", from Old French "soudeer" or "soudeour", meaning mercenary, from "soudee", meaning shilling's worth or wage, from "sou" or "soud", shilling. The word is also related to the Medieval Latin "soldarius", meaning soldier (literally, "one having pay"). These words ultimately derive from the Late Latin word "solidus", referring to an Ancient Roman coin used in the Byzantine Empire. In most armies use of