COPPER

n., adj., & v. --n. 1 Chem. a malleable red-brown metallic element of the transition series occurring naturally esp. in cuprite and malachite, and used esp. for electrical cables and apparatus. °Symb.: Cu. 2 a bronze coin. 3 a large metal vessel for boiling esp. laundry. 4 any of various butterflies with copper-coloured wings. --adj. made of or coloured like copper. --v.tr. cover (a ship's bottom, a pan, etc.) with copper. øcopper beech a variety of beech with copper-coloured leaves. copper belt a copper-mining area of Central Africa. copper-bit a soldering tool pointed with copper. copper-bottomed 1 having a bottom sheathed with copper (esp. of a ship or pan). 2 genuine or reliable (esp. financially). copper pyrites a double sulphide of copper and iron: also called CHALCOPYRITE. copper sulphate a blue crystalline solid used in electroplating, textile dyeing, etc. copper vitriol copper sulphate. [OE copor, coper, ult. f. L cyprium aes Cyprus metal]