copper

English

Wikipedia

Copper in its natural state.

Chemical element
Cu	Previous: nickel (Ni)
	Next: zinc (Zn)

Pronunciation

• (Australia) enPR: kŏ'pə, IPA: /ˈkɔp.ə/, X-SAMPA: /"kOp.@/
• (UK) enPR: kŏ'pə, IPA: /ˈkɒp.ə/, X-SAMPA: /"kQp.@/
• (US) enPR: kä'pər, IPA: /ˈkɑ.pɚ/, X-SAMPA: /"kA.p@`/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɒpə(r)

Etymology 1

From Middle English coper, from Old English coper, copor (“copper”), from Late Latin cuprum (“copper”), contraction of Latin (aes) Cyprium (literally “brass of Cyprus”), from Ancient Greek Κύπρος (Kupros, “Cyprus”). Cognate with Dutch koper (“copper”), German Kupfer (“copper”), Icelandic kopar (“copper”).

Noun

copper (countable and uncountable; plural coppers)

1. (uncountable) a reddish-brown, malleable, ductile metallic element with high electrical and thermal conductivity, symbol Cu, and atomic number 29.
2. (countable) Something made of copper.
3. The reddish-brown colour/color of copper.

   copper colour:

4. (countable) A copper coin.
5. (UK, archaic) A large pot, often used for heating water or washing clothes over a fire.

   Mum would heat the water in a copper in the kitchen and transfer it to the tin bath.

   I explain that socks can’t be boiled up in the copper with the sheets and towels or they shrink.

   • 1797, Dyeing, article in Colin Macfarquhar, George Gleig (editors), Encyclopædia Britannica: or, A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and Miscellaneous Literature, Volume 6, Part 1 page 207,

     When the water in the copper boils, the arsenic and tartar, well pounded, is put into it, and kept boiling till the liquor is reduced to about half.

Synonyms

• (colour): chestnut, russet

Derived terms

terms derived from copper

antimonial copper arsenical copper barium copper oxide black copper black copper ore blister copper, blistered copper blanched copper blue copper Bungtown copper Chessy copper chromated copper arsenate clear one's coppers cool one's coppers copper acetate copper age copper arsenate copper-arsenide copper-arsenite copper-beech copper-bellied snake copper-belly Copper Belt copperbelt copper belt copper-bit copper-blende copper-bloom copper-bottom copper-bottomed copper-bound copper-butterfly copper-cap copper-captain

copper carbonate copper chloride copper-colic copper-colored copper-coloured copper-cut copper dichloride coppered copper-emerald copperer Copper Eskimo copper-faced copper-fasten copper-fastened copper-finch copper-foil copper-glance copper-green copperhead copper-head copper-headed copper-hells copper-hops copper-Indian coppering copper-iron copperise copperize copperish copper-knob copper loss copper-man copper-manganese

copper-mica copper-nickel copper nitrate coppernob copper-nose copper ore copper oxide copper phosphide copper-place copperplate copper-powder copper pyrites copper-rain copper schist copperskin copper-skinned copper-slate coppersmith copper-smoke copper-snake copper-spot copper sulfate copper sulphate copper sulfide copper sulphide copper-top copper-topped copper uranite copper-vitriol copperware copper-wing copper-work copper-works coppery

copper-zinc disulfide of copper disulphide of copper dry copper emerald copper emerald copper ore enamelers' copper enamellers' copper gold-copper ore grey copper grey copper ore hot coppers indigo copper japan copper large copper manganese copper octahedral copper octahedral copper ore phosphor copper purple copper purple copper ore pyritous copper red copper scarce copper silver-copper nitrate sulfate of copper sulphate of copper variegated copper variegated copper ore velvet copper velvet copper ore white copper yellow copper yellow copper ore

Related terms

terms related to copper

BSCCO copperas cupr-, cupro- cuprane

cuprate cuprea bark cupreous

cupric cupriferous cuprite

cuproid cuproso- cuprous YBCO

Translations

chemical element

• Abkhaz: абҩа (ab) (abòa)
• Afrikaans: koper (af)
• Albanian: bakër (sq)
• Amuzgo: ndyé
• Arabic: نحاس (ar) (nuḥās, naḥās) m
• Armenian: պղինձ (hy) (płinj) 
• Asturian: cobre (ast) m
• Azeri: mis (az)
• Bashkir: баҡыр (baqïr), еҙ (yeð)
• Basque: kobrea
• Belarusian: медзь (be) (medzʹ) f 
• Berber:

  Tashelhit: anas m

• Breton: kouevr m
• Bulgarian: мед (bg) (med) f , (rare) бакър (bg) (bakằr) m 
• Burmese: ကြေးနီ (my) (kjei׃ ni)
• Catalan: coure m, aram m
• Chechen: цӀаста (ċasta)
• Cherokee: ᎥᏣᏱ (chr) (vtsayi)
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 銅, 铜 (tung4)

  Mandarin: 銅 (cmn), 铜 (cmn) (tóng)

• Chuvash: пăхăр (păxăr)
• Cornish: cober
• Crimean Tatar: baqır
• Czech: měď (cs) f
• Danish: kobber (da)
• Dutch: koper (nl) n
• Esperanto: kupro (eo)
• Estonian: vask (et)
• Faroese: kopar (fo)
• Finnish: kupari (fi), vaski (fi) (archaic)
• French: cuivre (fr) m
• Friulian: ram
• Gagauz: bakır
• Galician: cobre
• Georgian: სპილენძი (ka) (spilendzi) 
• German: Kupfer (de) n
• Greek: χαλκός (el) (chalkós) m 
• Gujarati: તાંબું (gu) (tāṁbuṁ)
• Hebrew: נְחוֹשֶת (he) (nekhoshet) f
• Hindi: ताम्र (hi) (taamra)
• Hungarian: réz (hu)
• Icelandic: eir (is)
• Indonesian: tembaga (id)
• Interlingua: cupro
• Irish: copar (ga)
• Italian: rame (it) m
• Japanese: 銅 (ja) (どう, dō, あかがね, akagané), 赤金 (ja) (あかがね, akagané)
• Kannada: ತಾಮ್ರ (kn) (tāmra)
• Karachay-Balkar: багъыр (bağır), жез (cez), джез (cez)
• Kashubian: (kòper)
• Kazakh: мыс (kk) (mıs) 
• Khakas: чис (çis), пағыр (pağır)
• Korean: 구리 (ko) (guri), 구리쇠 (ko) (gurisoe), 동 (ko) (dong) (銅 (ko)), 적금 (ko) (jeokkeum) (赤金 (ko))

• Kumyk: багъыр (bağır)
• Kyrgyz: мис (ky) (mis) 
• Lao: ທອງແດງ (lo) (tʰɔ́ːŋdɛ̀ːŋ)
• Latgalian: vars m
• Latin: aes (la) n, cyprum (la) n, cuprum (la) n, aerāmen (la) n
• Latvian: varš (lv) m
• Lithuanian: varis (lt)
• Luxembourgish: Koffer (lb) m
• Macedonian: бакар (mk) (bákar) m
• Malay: kuprum (ms), tembaga (ms)
• Malayalam: ചെമ്പ് (ml) (cemp)
• Maltese: ram (mt)
• Manx: cobbyr
• Maori: kapa (mi)
• Mongolian: зэс (mn) (zes) 
• Navajo: béésh łichíiʼii
• Norwegian: kobber (no)
• Ossetian: æрхуы (ærxuy)
• Persian: مس (fa) (mes)
• Polish: miedź (pl) f
• Portuguese: cobre (pt) m
• Punjabi: ਤਾਂਬਾ (pa) (tāṁbā)
• Romanian: cupru (ro) m, aramă (ro) f
• Romansch: arom (rm) m, irom (rm) m, aram (rm) m
• Russia Buryat: зэд (zed)
• Russian: медь (ru) (medʹ) f , купрум (ru) (kúprum) m 
• Sanskrit: ताम्रक (sa) (tāmraka)
• Scottish Gaelic: copar
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: бакар (sh) m

  Roman: bakar (sh) m

• Shor: чес (çes)
• Slovak: meď (sk) f
• Slovene: baker (sl) m
• Southern Altai: јес (ces)
• Spanish: cobre (es) m
• Swahili: shaba (sw)
• Swedish: koppar (sv) c
• Tajik: мис (tg) (mis) 
• Tamil: செம்பு (ta) (cempu)
• Tatar: бакыр (tt) (baqır)
• Telugu: రాగి (te) (rāgi), తామ్రము (te) (tāmramu)
• Thai: ทองแดง (th) (tong daeng)
• Turkish: bakır (tr)
• Turkmen: mis (tk)
• Tuvan: чес (çes), хола (xola)
• Ukrainian: мідь (uk) (midʹ) f 
• Urdu: تانبا (ur) (tānbā)
• Uyghur: مىس (ug) (mis)
• Uzbek: mis (uz)

  Cyrillic: мис (uz) m

• Vietnamese: đồng (vi) (銅 (vi))
• Volapük: kuprin (vo)
• Welsh: copor
• West Frisian: koper
• Yakut: алтан (altan)
• ǃXóõ: ǂkxʻái

something made of copper

• Albanian: bakërt (sq)
• Bulgarian: бакър (bg) m (bakǎr)
• Crimean Tatar: baqır
• Dutch: koperen (nl)
• Persian: مسی (fa) (mesi)

• Portuguese: cúprico
• Russian: медное изделие (médnoje izdélije) n, медь (ru) (medʹ) f 
• Swahili: shaba (sw)
• ǃXóõ: ǂkxʻái

colour/color of copper

• Albanian: bakërt (sq)
• Bulgarian: мед (bg) (med) f , меден (bg) (méden) m 
• Czech: měděná f
• Dutch: koperkleur (nl) f, koperrood (nl) n, koperbruin (nl) n
• French: cuivré (fr) m
• German: Kupferfarbe (de) f
• Greek: χάλκινο (el) (chálkino) n 

• Interlingua: cupro
• Luxembourgish: Kofferfaarf (lb) f, Kofferfuarf (lb) f
• Persian: مسی (fa) (mesi)
• Portuguese: cobre, cor-de-cobre m
• Russian: цвета меди (tsvéta médi) f, медно-красный (médno-krásnyj), медь (ru) (medʹ) f 
• Swahili: shaba (sw)

copper coin

• Albanian: bakër (sq)
• Bulgarian: медна монета (bg) f (medna moneta)
• Czech: měďák m
• Dutch: kopermunt (nl) f

• Greek: χάλκινο νόμισμα (el) (chálkino nómisma) n 
• Persian: مسین (fa) (mesin)
• Russian: медная монета (médnaja monéta) f, медяк (medják) m
• Swahili: shaba (sw)

large pot for hot water

• Albanian: bakëre (sq)
• Dutch: ketel (nl) m
• Maori: kapa (mi)

• Russian: медный котелок (médnyj kotelók) m, медный горшок (médnyj goršók) m
• Swahili: shaba (sw)

Adjective

copper (comparative more copper, superlative most copper)

1. Made of copper.
2. Having the reddish-brown colour/color of copper.
   • Coleridge

     All in a hot and copper sky,

     The bloody Sun, at noon,

     Right up above the mast did stand,

     No bigger than the Moon.

Synonyms

• (made of copper):
• (having the colour/color of copper): coppery

Translations

made of copper

• Albanian: bakërt (sq)
• Breton: kouevr, kouevrek
• Bulgarian: меден (bg) (méden) m 
• Catalan: courenc
• Czech: měděný (cs)
• Dutch: koperen (nl)
• Esperanto: kupra (eo)
• Finnish: kuparinen, vaskinen (archaic)
• French: cuivré (fr)
• German: kupfern (de)
• Greek: χάλκινος (el) (chálkinos) m 

• Interlingua: de cupro, cuprose
• Persian: مسی (fa) (mesi), مسین (fa) (mesin)
• Polish: miedziany (pl)
• Portuguese: "de cobre", cúprico
• Romansch: d'arom (rm)
• Russian: медный (ru) (médnyj) 
• Slovak: medený (sk)
• Spanish: cobrizo (es)
• Swahili: shaba (sw)
• Telugu: రాగి (raagi)

having the colour/color of copper

• Albanian: bakërt (sq)
• Bulgarian: меден (bg) (méden) m 
• Czech: měděný (cs)
• Dutch: koperkleurig
• Finnish: kuparinvärinen
• German: kupferfarben (de), kupferfarbig (de)

• Greek: χάλκινος (el) (chálkinos) m 
• Persian: مسی (fa) (mesi)
• Portuguese: cobreado, cor-de-cobre
• Romanian: arămiu
• Russian: медно-красный (médno-krásnyj)
• Swahili: shaba (sw)

Verb

copper (third-person singular simple present coppers, present participle coppering, simple past and past participle coppered)

1. To sheathe or coat with copper.

See also

Items relating to subject of copper

anna azurite bell metal bluestone blue vitriol Bordeaux mixture bornite brass bronze

Caboclo chalcid chalcanthite 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 Appendix:Colors

Etymology 2

From cop (verb) (“to take, capture”) +‎ -er (“agent suffix”)

Noun

copper (plural coppers)

1. (slang, law enforcement) A policeman.

Synonyms

• (policeman): police officer, constable, cop

Related terms

• cop

Translations

slang: a policeman

• Bulgarian: полицай (bg) m (policaj), ченге (bg) n (čenge)
• French: flic (fr) m, (vulgar, verlan) keuf (fr) m (colloquial) poulet (fr) m (rare, colloquial, slang) poulaga (fr) m
• German: (derogatory) Bulle (de) m
• Greek: μπάτσος (el) (bátsos) m 
• Hungarian: zsaru (hu), hekus (hu)

• Italian: agente di polizia (it) m, poliziotto (it)
• Macedonian: цајкан (mk) (cájkan) m, џандар (mk) (džándar) f
• Portuguese: tira (pt) m, policial (pt)
• Russian: полицейский (politséjskij) m, легавый (legávyj) m
• Swahili: shaba (sw)
• Turkish: aynasız (tr)