Contextualizebeta

copper

noun
/ˈkɒpə/CA/ˈkɔpə/

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”)

  1. derived from Κῠ́προς — “Cyprus”
  2. derived from aes Cyprium
  3. derived from cuprum — “copper”
  4. inherited from coper
  5. inherited from coper

Definitions

  1. A reddish-brown metallic chemical element (symbol Cu) with the atomic number 29

    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; […]
    • 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.

  2. The reddish-brown colour of copper (etymology 1, noun sense 1).

    • Near-synonyms: chestnut, russet

  3. Any of various specialized items made of copper (etymology 1, noun sense 1), where the…

    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.
  4. ›+ 14 more definitions

    1. Made of copper (etymology 1, noun sense 1).

    2. 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.
      • 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.

    3. To coat or sheathe (something) with copper (etymology 1, noun sense 1).

    4. To give (something) a colour by applying a copper salt.

    5. To give copper coins to (someone)

      To give copper coins to (someone); to pay.

    6. In the game of faro

      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.

    7. A police officer, especially one in uniform.

      • A uniformed copper came in. The chief jerked a thumb at MacSwain and said: "Take this baby down cellar and let the wrecking crew work on him before you lock him up."
      • One evening as I was lying down in Leicester Square / I was picked up by the coppers and kicked in the balls

    8. Chiefly preceded by a descriptive word

      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.

    9. An informer.

    10. To inform on (someone) to the police

      To inform on (someone) to the police; to nark.

    11. To arrest (someone).

    12. 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.[…]"

    13. A component of the cop (“conical ball of thread wound on to the spindle”) in a spinning…

      A component of the cop (“conical ball of thread wound on to the spindle”) in a spinning machine.

    14. A surname.

The neighborhood

Derived

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 · +165 more

Vish — recursive loop

A definitional loop anchored at copper. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.

01copper02symbol03icon04painting05artwork06graphical07engraved08engravings09engraving

A definitional loop anchored at copper. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.

9 hops · closes at copper

curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA