نحاس

Where it comes from

Uncertain; attested at least from the Amarna period in Northwest Semitic; compare Phoenician 𐤍𐤇𐤔 (nḥš), Hebrew נְחֹשֶׁת (n'khóshet, “copper”), Ge'ez ናሕስ (naḥs), Aramaic נחשׁ (“copper, bronze”), and Nehushtan:

* From Proto-Semitic *naḥaš- (“snake, reptile; divination, incantations; to learn secret things”), such a sense derived from hissing equated to whispers. The process of extracting ore and the ability to shape metal was considered connected to arcane arts in most early societies; alternatively from the use of copper, bronze, and brass bowls in commonly practiced hydromancy or in offering libations to spirits.

* From ن ح س (n ḥ s), connected with misfortune and difficulty, including great association with smoke, fire, and intense heat or burning; by extension the conditions of metallurgy. See also brass founders' ague, the brass shakes especially associated with this metal.

* Possibly from a semantic shift of Akkadian 𒀭𒈾 (annakum, “tin”), from Sumerian 𒀭𒈾 (an-na /⁠anna, nagga⁠/, “tin”), as most ancient languages conflate the terms for copper and bronze, bronze being an alloy of tin and copper. In this case a doublet of آنُك (ʔānuk).

* Possibly related to Akkadian 𒋼𒂗𒋙𒌑 (tenšu, “metal ornament, a metal inlay”), likely borrowed from Aramaic; less likely related to Akkadian 𒀀𒄭𒄊𒌋 (aḫuš'u, “poetic name for copper”), ultimately from a Sumerian loan.