i actually think it would be disrespectful of whitlam's memory not to mention that he thought his dismissal was a coup i know enough about how the word is used in wikipedia never for a government the usg suupports from the ukrainian articles which call the february coup in kiev a revolution and a democratic one at that i just looked up the word coup in the concise oed and hilo is right the oed says violent my recollection was that it said especially a violent one it is unfortunate that that article from the australian doesn't give a direct quote of a full sentence in which whitlam says that his dismissal was a coup so i guess his is going nowhere unless i can find a source that does that