# copper

Pronunciation: US say "KOP-er" /ˈkɑ.pɚ/; say "KOP-uh" UK /ˈkɒp.ə/, AUS /ˈkɔp.ə/

## Noun

1. A reddish-brown, easily shaped metal that conducts heat and electricity well, with the chemical symbol Cu.
   - Simple: A soft, reddish-brown metal that carries heat and electricity very well.
   - _Electricians prefer copper for wiring because it conducts electricity so efficiently._
   - _Ancient smiths mixed copper with tin to make bronze._
4. A reddish-brown hue like that of the polished metal of the same name.
   - Simple: A reddish-brown color, like a shiny new penny.
   - _Her hair shone a rich copper in the afternoon light._
   - _By late October the maple leaves had faded from green to a deep copper that glowed in the evening sun._
7. A police officer. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A police officer. This is an informal word.
   - _A young copper directed the crowd away from the scene._
   - _The local coppers had been watching the warehouse for weeks._
5. A coin of low value, once made of copper and now usually of bronze or copper-plated steel, such as a British 1p or 2p piece. *(colloquial, UK)*
   - Simple: A low-value coin that looks like copper, such as a British penny or two-pence coin.
   - _The boy counted his coppers, hoping for enough to buy bread._
   - _Each newspaper cost only a copper in those days._
6. Any of various items made of copper, where the metal is either traditional or essential to the item's function.
   - Simple: A tool or container made of copper, where the copper is needed for it to work or is traditional.
   - _At the brewery, the wort is boiled with hops in a large copper before it is cooled._
   - _Her grandmother's gleaming coppers still hang from a rack above the stove._
9. Any of various small butterflies of the family Lycaenidae having copper-colored upper wings, especially in the genera Lycaena and Paralucia.
   - Simple: A small butterfly with shiny orange-red wings.
   - _The small copper is a common sight on summer heathland._
   - _Coppers darted between the thistles in the August sun._

## Adjective

2. Made of copper.
   - Simple: Made from copper, a soft reddish-brown metal.
   - _Copper pipes run throughout the basement of the old building._
   - _They installed a copper gutter along the roofline._
3. Having a reddish-brown color like that of polished copper.
   - Simple: Reddish-brown, like the metal copper.
   - _The hills turned a copper shade as the sun went down._
   - _Her copper hair stood out against the gray sky._

## Verb

8. To sheathe or coat a surface with copper.
   - Simple: To cover something with a thin layer of copper.
   - _Workers copper the wooden hull to protect it from marine worms._
   - _The dome was coppered to give it a lasting finish._

## Noun

10. A large pot, sometimes a fixed installation with its own fire and chimney, used for heating water or boiling laundry. *(dated, Australia, UK)*
   - Simple: A large pot for heating water or washing clothes over a fire.
   - _Before washing machines, every household relied on the copper for laundry._
   - _Grandmother stoked the fire beneath the copper each Monday morning._

## Origin

**Meanings 1–6, 8–10** — English inherited this from Middle English and Old English "coper," from Late Latin "cuprum," a contraction of Latin "aes Cyprium" (literally "Cyprian brass"), from the name of the island Cyprus. It is related to Dutch "koper," German "Kupfer," and Icelandic "kopar."
**Meaning 7** — This probably formed from the verb "cop" ("to take, capture, seize") plus the agent-noun suffix "-er," so it means one who catches.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/copper (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).