coop for cooperation or intern?

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keannu

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I worked as a coop in TD Bank in Canada as a cobol programmer. I didn't know the meanig of "coop" for sure, but now I guess it means "cooperation worker between univeristy and company" as it's a student sent from a university or a college to a company. What do you think?

kk103)co-op - abbreviation of "cooperation"
 

probus

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Jeez man. ( A Canadianism.) You are ancient and practically a Canuck.

This usage of coop is probably exclusively Canadian. We designed university programs so that students spent alternating semesters studying and working in the field. The students were called coops. An approximate current synonym is interns, except that coops were paid and interns are not. I don't know whether this system is still operating.

@ keannu: When you admit to knowing cobol you confess to being very ancient. Don't take it badly. I wrote cobol too
 

keannu

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I couldn't help but choose it because of several reasons back then- it was a great recession in 2009, and most banking programs are still saved as cobol ones. I encountered such programs in almost 20 years. I graduated from Seneca College in Toronto. And such a system dividing coop and interns is still operating even now, I guss - I left Canada in 2010, and it's been a short time, so I don't think it's abolished now.

By the way, is "coop" used as an abbreviation of the general meaning of "cooperation" as well often?
 

Rover_KE

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Is "coop" used as an abbreviation of the general meaning of "cooperation" as well [STRIKE]often[/STRIKE]?


In the UK we say co-op (it's clearer when hyphenated) to refer to a convenience store run by a cooperative society.

Rover
 

emsr2d2

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Further to what Rover said above, "co-op" in BrE would only be seen as an abbreviation of the noun "co-operative".

The farm near me is a co-op.
I want to help the environment and live sustainably so I'm joining a co-op which grows fruit and vegetables locally.
 

5jj

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'Co-op' is pronounced /kəʊ[SUB](w)[/SUB]ɒp/.
 
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