A d'etat is a French term meaning 'state COUP' and is used to describe a sudden, illegal seizure of power from a government. The two crossword solutions for the term d'etat are raison (6 letters) and COUP (4 letters). Raison is a French word meaning 'REASON' or 'CAUSE' and is often used in the phrase 'raison d'etat' to refer to the justification of a state's actions. COUP is a French word meaning 'BLOW' or 'STRIKE' and is used to refer to a sudden, violent overthrow of a government.