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From Middle Englishcoude, couthe, cuthe, from Old Englishcūþe, past indicative and past subjunctive form of cunnan(“to be able”) (compare related cūþ, whence English couth). The 'l' was added in the early 16th century by analogy with should and would; this was probably helped by the tendency for 'l' to be lost in those words (and so not written, leading to shudd, wode, etc).
Even without hovering drones, a lurking assassin, a thumping score and a denouement, the real-life story of Edward Snowden, a rogue spy on the run, could be straight out of the cinema. But, as with Hollywood, the subplots and exotic locations may distract from the real message: America’s discomfort and its foes’ glee.
1981, Anthony Warner, English Auxiliaries: Structure and History, published 1993, →ISBN, page 222:
I haven't could sleep.
Usage notes
Some speakers and writers consider it wrong to use could to refer to permission. Such people favor replacing it with might, just as they favor replacing can with may when referring to permission.
Something that could happen, or could be the case, under different circumstances; a potentiality.
1996, Fred Shoemaker, Extraordinary Golf: The Art of the Possible, page 88:
When the golf ball is there, the whole self-interference package — the hopes, worries, and fears; the thoughts on how-to and how-not-to; the woulds, the coulds, and the shoulds — is there too.
2010, Shushona Novos, The Personal Universal: A Guidebook for Spiritual Evolution, page 395:
Shushona you must learn to rightfully prioritize all the woulds, shoulds and coulds of your life.