copper
Part of speech: noun
adj
verb
Morphological type: simple
Topics: biology
card-games
chemistry
entomology
games
hobbies
lifestyle
natural-sciences
numismatics
physical-sciences
Etymology: The noun is inherited from Middle English coper, copper (“copper ore; copper metal; bronze”), from Old English coper, copor (“copper”), from Late Latin cuprum (“copper”), a contraction of Latin aes Cyprium (literally “Cyprian brass or copper”), ultimately from Ancient Greek Κῠ́προς (Kŭ́pros, “Cyprus”) (a major source of copper during the Near East’s Bronze Age), from the name of a Northwest Semitic goddess from the root כ־ב־ר/ك ب ر (k b r) (“related to being big, large; great; or old”). Doublet of kobo.
The adjective is from an attributive use of the noun. The verb is also derived from the noun.
cognates
* Dutch koper (“copper”)
* German Kupfer (“copper”)
* Icelandic kopar (“copper”)
Inflected forms:
form: coppers
pos: noun
tags: plural
form: more copper
pos: adj
tags: comparative
form: most copper
pos: adj
tags: superlative
form: coppers
pos: verb
tags: present
singular
third-person
form: coppering
pos: verb
tags: participle
present
form: coppered
pos: verb
tags: participle
past
form: coppered
pos: verb
tags: past
Senses:
gloss: A reddish-brown metallic chemical element (symbol Cu) with the atomic number 29; also, the metal made up of this element.
pos: noun
tags: uncountable
examples: Men talke much […] of the Philoſophers ſtone, that it turneth copper into gold; […]
Through the clear smooth water her copper shone brightly; […]
In the Siberian Traps crustal contamination of mantle magmas is seen to cause the segregation of large volumes of sulfide, which host giant deposits of nickel, copper, and platinum group metals in associated intrusions.
[Donald] Trump's July 8 announcement of a 50% tariff on copper imports beginning August 1 sent prices surging 13% in one day, up to a record high of $5.69 per pound.
gloss: The reddish-brown colour of copper (etymology 1, noun sense 1).
pos: noun
tags: broadly
uncountable
examples: Near-synonyms: chestnut, russet
gloss: The reddish-brown colour of copper (etymology 1, noun sense 1).
pos: noun
tags: broadly
countable
gloss: Any of various specialized items made of copper (etymology 1, noun sense 1), where the use of the metal is either necessary or traditional to the function of the item.
pos: noun
tags: broadly
countable
dated
examples: Coppers are generally good for a year, if the battery is carefully attended; they should, however, be removed before they have increased to such a size that their removal might cause the destruction of the glass jars.
Every millwright should have some soldering tools, and he ought to know how to use them. […] Coppers weighing one pound each are the smallest ever needed in a paper mill, and one 2-pound copper should be bought also. […] Having made the solder and bought "coppers," the first job is to tin them. Some coppers come already tinned. I didn't buy mine, so they surely were not tinned.
When new battery coppers are received, they should be placed where they will not be exposed to extreme heat, or to the sun, whether they are in a box or not. […] Coppers are not consumed, and their life depends largely on the manner in which they are used.
gloss: Any of various specialized items made of copper (etymology 1, noun sense 1), where the use of the metal is either necessary or traditional to the function of the item.
pos: noun
tags: broadly
countable
dated
examples: [H]e slid down from his seat, and darted into the public house, reappearing in a few moments with a copper of ale and a horn in his hand: he and another man held open the horses' mouths, and poured the ale through the horn down their throats.
gloss: Any of various specialized items made of copper (etymology 1, noun sense 1), where the use of the metal is either necessary or traditional to the function of the item.
pos: noun
tags: broadly
countable
dated
examples: [H]e went to sleep, taking first out of his pocket a book,[…]. It proved to be my old favorite author, [John] Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, in Dutch, finely printed on good paper, with copper cuts, a dress better than I had ever seen it wear in its own language.
gloss: Any of various specialized items made of copper (etymology 1, noun sense 1), where the use of the metal is either necessary or traditional to the function of the item.
pos: noun
tags: broadly
countable
dated
examples: Light VVenches may proue plagues to men forſ[w]orne, / If ſo our Copper byes no better treaſure.
I remember the time when rascally company were kept out, and the unlucky boys with toys and balls were whipped away by a beadle. I have seen this done indeed of late, but then it has been only to chase away the lads from chuck, that the beadle might seize their copper.
I had in my pocket a handful of copper money, three or four silver dollars, and five pistoles in gold. As he [the preacher George Whitefield] proceeded I began to soften, and concluded to give the coppers. […] [H]e finish'd so admirably, that I empty'd my pocket wholly into the collector's dish, gold and all.
[O]ne feels a difficulty in offering a princess the change for a shilling in coppers.
"I don't want to spoil any comparison you are going to make," said Jim, "but I was at Winchester and New College." / "That will do," said Mackenzie. "I was dragged up at the workhouse school till I was twelve. Then I ran away and sold papers in the streets, and anything else that I could pick up a few coppers by—except steal.[…]."
gloss: Any of various specialized items made of copper (etymology 1, noun sense 1), where the use of the metal is either necessary or traditional to the function of the item.
pos: noun
tags: US
broadly
countable
dated
gloss: Any of various specialized items made of copper (etymology 1, noun sense 1), where the use of the metal is either necessary or traditional to the function of the item.
pos: noun
tags: Australia
UK
broadly
countable
dated
examples: Mum would heat the water in a copper in the kitchen and transfer it to the tin bath.
Socks can’t be boiled up in the copper with the sheets and towels or they shrink.
But the chiefeſt of their buſineſs vvas to get Coppers; for each Ship having novv ſo many Men, our Pots vvould not boil Victuals faſt enough, though vve kept them boiling all the day. About 2 or 3 days after they return aboard vvith 3 Coppers.
When the water in the copper boils, the arſenic and tartar, vvell pounded, is put into it, and kept boiling till the liquor is reduced to about half.
[W]hat can you expect from officers who boil their 'tators in a cabbage-net hanging in the ship's coppers, when they know that there is one-third of a stove allowed them to cook their victuals on?
You had better mind you don't get up too early, and you mustn't put any fire under the copper before two o'clock.
He rose to his knees, for he had been sitting in the darkness near the copper.
'Vot game now she play?' he asked himself, as he distinguished his wife near one of the pig-scalding coppers.
The wet laundry's stove had a long vent in the ceiling which helped to release the steam from the coppers in which the clothes and bed linen were boiled.
gloss: Made of copper (etymology 1, noun sense 1).
pos: adj
examples: Contrasting vividly with this ruin was the neat dresser, stained in the fashion, pale green, and with a number of copper and tin vessels below it, the wall-paper imitating blue and white tiles, and a couple of coolured supplements fluttering from the walls above the kitchen range.
gloss: Having the reddish-brown colour of copper.
pos: adj
examples: All in a hot and copper sky, / The bloody Sun, at noon, / Right up above the mast did stand, / No bigger than the Moon.
Cold and terror had produced a chance in her complexion, which now wore a yellow, or sort of copper hue.
She seemed so alive, with her shining eyes and her copper hair and her jokes and funny stories, but there was always a mystery at the center of her life, the sound of wild sobbing my mother said she heard coming through the floor.
gloss: To coat or sheathe (something) with copper (etymology 1, noun sense 1).
pos: verb
tags: transitive
gloss: To give (something) a colour by applying a copper salt.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
gloss: To give copper coins to (someone); to pay.
pos: verb
tags: dated
transitive
gloss: In the game of faro: to place a copper coin, or now usually a small disc or token, on (a playing card) to indicate that a player bets against that card.
pos: verb
tags: US
transitive
gloss: In the game of faro: to place a copper coin, or now usually a small disc or token, on (a playing card) to indicate that a player bets against that card.
pos: verb
tags: US
figuratively
transitive
examples: [T]hey are going to take this whole Mississippi, and twist it around and make it run several miles up stream. […] [Y]ou have n't got to believe they can do such miracles, have you? And yet you ain't absolutely obliged to believe they can't. I reckon the safe way, where a man can afford it, is to copper the operation, and at the same time buy enough property in Vicksburg to square you up in case they win.
The dive is off. Better copper your bets while there's time.
Related words: copperas
cupr-
cuprane
cuprate
cuprea bark
cupreous
cupric
cupriferous
cuprite
cupro-
cuproid
cuproso-
cuprous
anna
azurite
bell metal
bluestone
blue vitriol
Bordeaux mixture
bornite
brass
bronze
chalcanthite
chalcid
chalcocite
chalcopyrite
chalcosis
chessylite
chrysocolla
covellite
ferrous sulphate
kipper
lentigohepatic degeneration
malachite
Monel
olivenite
ormolu
patina
peacock ore
soldo
speculum metal
tombac
verd antique
verdigris
widow's mite
Wilson's disease
Derived words: antimonial copper
arsenical copper
Austrian copper
Austrian copper rose
barium copper disilicate
barium copper oxide
barium copper silicate
barium copper tetrasilicate
bismuth strontium calcium copper oxide
black copper
black copper ore
blanched copper
blister copper
blistered copper
blue copper
bronze copper
BSCCO
Bungtown copper
calcium copper tetrasilicate
cement copper
Chessy copper
chromated copper arsenate
clear one's coppers
cool one's coppers
copper acetate
copper age
copper arsenate
copper arsenide
copper-arsenide
copper-arsenite
copper arsenite
copper aspirinate
copperbar
copper barilla
copper-beech
copper beech
copper-bellied snake
copperbelly
copper-belly
copperbelt
copper belt
Copperbelt
copper-bit
copper-blende
copper-bloom
copper-bottom
copper-bottomed
copper-bound
copper-butterfly
copper-cap
copper-captain
copper captain
copper carbonate
copper chloride
copper chopper
copper-colic
copper-cut
copper dichloride
coppered
copper-emerald
copperer
Copper Eskimo
copper-faced
copper-fasten
copper fasten
copperfasten
copper-fastened
Copperfield
copper finch
copper-finch
copper-foil
copper-glance
copper globemallow
copper-green
copper group
copper-head
copperhead
copper-headed
copper-hells
copper-hops
copper-Indian
coppering
copper iris
copper-iron
copperise
copperish
copperize
copper-knob
copperleaf
copperless
copper loss
copper-man
copper-manganese
copper-mica
copper moki
coppern
copper-nickel
copper nitrate
coppernob
copper nose
copper-nose
Copperopolis
copper ore
copperous
copper oxide
copper phosphide
copper phthalocyanine
copper-place
copperplate
copper-powder
copper pyrites
copper-rain
Copper River
copper schist
copper shark
copperskin
copper-skinned
copper-slate
coppersmith
coppersmithing
coppersmithy
copper-smoke
copper-snake
copper-spot
copper sulfate
copper sulfide
copper sulphate
copper sulphide
coppertop
copper-top
copper-topped
copper transport disease
copper uranite
copper-vitriol
copperware
copper-wing
copperwork
copper-work
copperworker
copperworking
copperworks
copper-works
copperworm
coppery
cozzer
decacopper
dicopper
disulfide of copper
disulphide of copper
dry copper
electrocopper
emerald copper
emerald copper ore
enamelers' copper
enamellers' copper
gold-copper ore
great copper
grey copper
grey copper ore
heptacopper
hexaaquacopper
holler copper
hot coppers
indigo copper
japan copper
large copper
manganese copper
multicopper
noncopper
octacopper
octadecacopper
octahedral copper
octahedral copper ore
organocopper
peacock copper
pentacopper
pentadecacopper
phosphor copper
purple copper
purple copper ore
pyritous copper
radiocopper
recopper
red copper
resin of copper
scarce copper
silicon copper
silver-copper nitrate
small copper
sulfate of copper
sulphate of copper
tetracopper
tetradecacopper
tin-silver-copper
tricopper
tridecacopper
variegated copper
variegated copper ore
velvet copper
velvet copper ore
white copper
wood-copper
YBCO
yellow copper
yellow copper ore
Translations:
lang: Albanian
word: bakërt
lang: Armenian
word: պղինձագույն
roman: pġinjaguyn
lang: Belarusian
word: спіжарны
roman: śpižarny
lang: Bulgarian
word: мед
roman: med
lang: Bulgarian
word: ме́ден
roman: méden
lang: Catalan
word: coure
lang: Czech
word: měděná
lang: Dutch
word: koperbruin
lang: Dutch
word: koperkleur
lang: Dutch
word: koperrood
lang: Finnish
word: kuparinruskea
lang: French
word: cuivré
lang: Georgian
word: სპილენძისფერი
roman: sṗilenʒisperi
lang: German
word: Kupferfarbe
lang: Greek
word: χάλκινο
roman: chálkino
lang: Interlingua
word: cuprose
lang: Japanese
word: カッパー
roman: kappā
lang: Japanese
word: 銅色
roman: akaganeiro
lang: Japanese
word: 赤銅
roman: shakudō
lang: Luxembourgish
word: Kofferfaarf
lang: Luxembourgish
word: Kofferfuarf
lang: Persian
word: مسی
roman: mesi
lang: Portuguese
word: cobre
lang: Portuguese
word: cor de cobre
lang: Russian
word: ме́дно-кра́сный
roman: médno-krásnyj
lang: Russian
word: ме́дный
roman: médnyj
lang: Russian
word: цвет ме́ди
roman: cvet médi
lang: Russian
word: медь
roman: medʹ
lang: Slovak
word: medená
lang: Swahili
word: shaba
lang: Tagalog
word: kulay-tanso
lang: Turkish
word: bakır rengi
lang: Vietnamese
word: màu đồng
lang: Albanian
word: bakërt
lang: Albanian
word: remtë
lang: Southern Altai
word: јес
roman: ǰes
lang: Armenian
word: պղնձե
roman: pġnje
lang: Bulgarian
word: бакър
roman: bakǎr
lang: Catalan
word: aram
lang: Crimean Tatar
word: baqır
lang: Dutch
word: koperen
lang: Finnish
word: kupariesine
lang: Hindi
word: ताम्र
roman: tāmra
lang: Nepali
word: ताम्र
roman: tāmra
lang: Persian
word: مسی
roman: mesi
lang: Polish
word: miedziany
lang: Portuguese
word: cúprico
lang: Swahili
word: shaba
lang: Turkish
word: bakır
lang: Ottoman Turkish
word: باقر
roman: bakır
lang: ǃXóõ
word: ǂkxʻái
lang: Albanian
word: bakër
lang: Armenian
word: պղինձ
roman: pġinj
lang: Bulgarian
word: медна монета
roman: medna moneta
lang: Catalan
word: coure
lang: Catalan
word: aram
lang: Chinese
word: 銅貨 /铜货
roman: tâng-hè
lang: Coptic
word: ϧⲁⲗⲕⲓⲛ
roman: xalkin
lang: Czech
word: měďák
lang: Dutch
word: kopermunt
lang: Finnish
word: kupariraha
lang: Greek
word: χάλκινο νόμισμα
roman: chálkino nómisma
lang: Ingrian
word: vaskiraha
lang: Japanese
word: 銅貨
roman: dōka
lang: Latin
word: cupreus
lang: Persian
word: مسین
roman: mesin
lang: Polish
word: miedziak
lang: Portuguese
word: cobre
lang: Russian
word: медя́к
roman: medják
lang: Scottish Gaelic
word: gliog
lang: Southern Altai
word: јес акча
roman: ǰes akča
lang: Swahili
word: shaba
lang: Ottoman Turkish
word: باقر
roman: bakır
lang: Vietnamese
word: đồng
lang: Finnish
word: panostaa