coping (n.)

c. 1600 as an architectural term, "the top or cover of a wall, usually sloped to shed water," a specialized use of cope (n.), the cape-like vestment worn by priests, which is a a variant of cape (n.1). Cope (v.) "to provide (someone) with a cope or cloak" is attested from late 14c., and in the architectural sense of "to form a cope, bend as an arch or vault" it is recorded from 1660s. Coping saw, used for cutting curved patterns, is attested by 1887.