copper
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copper¹
- /ˈkɒpə/ UK
- /ˈkɑpəɹ/ Canada, Canadian, US
- /ˈkɒpə/ Canada, US, dialectal
- /ˈkɔpə/ Australia
- /ˈkɒpə/ New Zealand
- [ˈkɔ̟pə] New Zealand
Rhymes with -ɒpə(ɹ)
Where it comes from
The noun is inherited from Middle English coper, copper (“copper ore; copper metal; bronze”), from Old English coper, copor (“copper”), from Proto-West Germanic *kopr, 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”)
Compare typologically Argentina (< Latin argentum, an opposite semantic shift); turquoise (akin to Turk).
noun coppers
- A reddish-brown metallic chemical element (symbol Cu) with the atomic number 29; also, the metal made up of this element. Men talke much […] of the Philoſophers ſtone, that it turneth copper into gold; […]
- The reddish-brown colour of copper (etymology 1, noun sense 1). Near-synonyms: chestnut, russet
- In full copper butterfly: any of various lycaenid butterflies with copper-coloured upperwings, especially those of the genera Lycaena and Paralucia.
- 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. 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.
- A copper mug used for drinking alcoholic beverages. [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.
- A copper sheet on which an image or writing is engraved. [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.
- A coin, typically of a small denomination, originally made of copper and now chiefly of other metals such as bronze; specifically, an English or British penny or halfpenny; also, a United States cent; (uncountable) coins made of copper collectively. Light VVenches may proue plagues to men forſ[w]orne, / If ſo our Copper byes no better treaſure.
- In the game of faro: originally a copper coin, now usually a small disc or token, placed on a playing card to indicate that a player bets against that card.
- A large pot, originally made of copper but later often of iron, filled with water and heated over a fire for cooking, washing clothes, etc. Mum would heat the water in a copper in the kitchen and transfer it to the tin bath.
adjective more copper · most copper
-
Made of copper (etymology 1, noun sense 1).
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.
Similar: coppern
- Having the reddish-brown colour of copper. All in a hot and copper sky, / The bloody Sun, at noon, / Right up above the mast did stand, / No bigger than the Moon.
verb coppers · coppering · coppered
- To coat or sheathe (something) with copper (etymology 1, noun sense 1).
- To give (something) a colour by applying a copper salt.
- To give copper coins to (someone); to pay.
- 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.
- To bet against (something). [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 cop
copper²
- /ˈkɒpə/ UK
- /ˈkɑpəɹ/ Canada, Canadian, US
- /ˈkɒpə/ Canada, US, dialectal
- /ˈkɔpə/ Australia
- /ˈkɒpə/ New Zealand
- [ˈkɔ̟pə] New Zealand
Rhymes with -ɒpə(ɹ)
Where it comes from
The noun is probably derived from cop (“(informal, dated) to arrest or capture (someone)”) + -er (suffix forming agent nouns), although cop is attested slightly later.
The verb is derived from the noun.
noun coppers
-
A police officer, especially one in uniform.
If you're caught by a copper, it's his job to pinch you, isn't it? You can hold him up with a gun, but he's got to come on, even if he gets killed. […] It's not fair on the coppers either; they've got their duty to do, and it's dirty to kill a man for doing his job.
Similar: constable, cop, 5-O, alphabet, barney, beatsman, bizzie, bluebottle, bluecoat, blue heeler, blue meanie, bobby
- Chiefly preceded by a descriptive word: a private detective or a security guard. I went to the phone and asked the girl to send the house copper [of the hotel] up.
- A person working as an informer for the police; a nark
- A prisoner who informs on fellow prisoners.
verb coppers · coppering · coppered
- To inform on (someone) to the police; to nark.
- To arrest (someone).
- To inform on someone to the police. "It's no use your staying here, because I'm not going to copper anybody," said the woman truculently. "My lodgers are respectable people; they keep themselves to themselves, and I keep myself to myself.[…]"
copper³
- /ˈkɒpə/ UK
- /ˈkɑpəɹ/ Canada, Canadian, US
- /ˈkɒpə/ Canada, US, dialectal
- /ˈkɔpə/ Australia
- /ˈkɒpə/ New Zealand
- [ˈkɔ̟pə] New Zealand
Rhymes with -ɒpə(ɹ)
Where it comes from
From cop (“ball of thread wound on to a spindle in a spinning machine”) + -er (suffix denoting things relating to the words to which the suffix is attached to).
noun coppers
- A component of the cop (“conical ball of thread wound on to the spindle”) in a spinning machine.
Copper⁴
proper noun Coppers
- A surname.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: bull, fuzz, pig, cop, cu, copper color, zinc, cobalt, arsenic, deposit, constantan, bronze, metal, gold, brass, baker
Translations
Every language
noun reddish-brown colour of copper
| 日本語 | カッパー kappā, 銅色 akaganeiro, 赤銅 shakudō |
|---|---|
| Kiswahili | shaba |
| Português | cobre, cor de cobre |
| Français | cuivré |
| Deutsch | Kupferfarbe |
| Ελληνικά | χάλκινο chálkino |
| Русский | ме́дно-кра́сный médno-krásnyj, ме́дный médnyj, цвет ме́ди cvet médi, медь medʹ |
| Tiếng Việt | màu đồng |
| العربية | نُحَاسِيّ nuḥāsiyy |
noun any of various specialized items made of copper
| हिन्दी | ताम्र tāmra |
|---|---|
| Kiswahili | shaba |
| Português | cúprico |
noun coin, typically of a small denomination, originally made of copper; coins made of copper collectively
| 日本語 | 銅貨 dōka |
|---|---|
| Kiswahili | shaba |
| Português | cobre |
| Ελληνικά | χάλκινο νόμισμα chálkino nómisma |
| Русский | медя́к medják |
| Tiếng Việt | đồng |
noun reddish-brown metallic chemical element with the atomic number 29; the metal made up of this element
| Español | cobre |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 구리 guri, 구리쇠 gurisoe, 동 dong, 적금 jeokgeum |
| 日本語 | 銅 dō, 銅 akagane, カッパー kappā |
| 中文 | 銅 /铜 tóng |
| हिन्दी | ताँबा tāmbā, ताम्र tāmra |
| Kiswahili | shaba |
| Português | cobre |
| Français | cuivre |
| Deutsch | Kupfer |
| Italiano | rame |
| Ελληνικά | χαλκός chalkós |
| Română | cupru, aramă |
| Русский | медь medʹ |
| Tiếng Việt | đồng |
| العربية | نُحَاس nuḥās |
| עברית | נחושת, נְחֹשֶׁת nekhóshet |
noun any of various lycaenid butterflies with copper-coloured upperwings
| Русский | черво́нец červónec |
|---|
noun copper sheet on which an image or writing is engraved
| Русский | медь medʹ |
|---|
noun large pot filled with water and heated over a fire
| Kiswahili | shaba |
|---|---|
| Русский | котёл kotjól, чугу́н čugún, чугуно́к čugunók |
adj made of copper
| 日本語 | 銅製 dōsei |
|---|---|
| Kiswahili | shaba |
| Português | de cobre, cúprico |
| Deutsch | kupfern, küpfern |
| Ελληνικά | χάλκινος chálkinos |
| Română | din cupru |
| Русский | ме́дный médnyj |
| Tiếng Việt | đồng |
adj having the reddish-brown colour of copper
| Español | cobrizo |
|---|---|
| Kiswahili | shaba |
| Português | cobreado, cor-de-cobre |
| Français | cuivré |
| Deutsch | kupferfarben, kupferfarbig, kupfern, küpfern |
| Ελληνικά | χάλκινος chálkinos |
| Română | arămiu |
| Русский | ме́дно-кра́сный médno-krásnyj, цве́та ме́ди cvéta médi, ме́дный médnyj |
noun (slang) police officer
| Español | paco |
|---|---|
| Kiswahili | shaba |
| Português | tira, policial |
| Français | flic, keuf, poulet, poulaga |
| Deutsch | Bulle |
| Italiano | agente di polizia, poliziotto |
| Ελληνικά | μπάτσος bátsos |
| Русский | полице́йский policéjskij, лега́вый legávyj |
Talk about this word "copper." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/copper. Accessed 5 Nov. 2026. copper. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/copper "copper." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 5, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/copper.Cite this
@misc{copper_2026,
title = {copper},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/copper},
urldate = {2026-11-05}
}
