I. ˈkäpə(r) noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English coper, from Old English; akin to Middle Dutch koper, Old High German kupfar, Old Norse koparr; all from a prehistoric West Germanic-North Germanic word borrowed from Late Latin cuprum copper, from Latin cyprum, from ( aes ) Cyprium, literally, metal of Cyprus, from aes metal + Cyprium, neuter of Cyprius of Cyprus, from Greek Kyprios, from Kypros Cyprus (island in the Mediterranean)
1. : a common reddish chiefly univalent and bivalent metallic element that is ductile and malleable and one of the best conductors of heat and electricity, that is the only metal that occurs native abundantly in large masses, being found also in various ores (as chalcopyrite, chalcocite, bornite, cuprite, and malachite), this is used in industry, engineering, and the arts both in the pure state and in brass, bronze, and other alloys, and that is an important trace element in animal and plant nutrition — symbol Cu ; see element table
2.
a. : a coin or token made of copper
b. : a minor coin made of bronze (as a United States cent or a British halfpenny, penny, or farthing)
3. : copper sheathing of a vessel
4.
a. chiefly Britain : a large boiler (as for cooking or laundering) now often of iron
a soap copper
b. coppers plural : the boilers and cooking vessels in a ship's galley
5.
a. or copper red : a grayish reddish orange that is redder and darker than Etruscan red or hyacinth red and yellower and darker than Persian melon — called also carnelian, wax red
b. : a moderate reddish orange to brownish orange
6. : soldering iron
7. : the mouth and throat — used especially in hot coppers, cool one's coppers, implying a parched condition due to excessive drinking
8. : any of various small butterflies of the family Lycaenidae with copper-colored wings ; especially : american copper
9. : the token used in coppering in the game of faro
10. : a copper sheet like a shield with a T-shaped ridge across it that was used as a symbol of wealth or distinction in ceremonial exchange among the Indians of the northwestern coast of No. America
II. adjective
1. : of copper
copper wire
2. : relating to copper, copper mining, or copper smelting
3. : having the characteristic color of copper
a hot and copper sky — S.T.Coleridge
4. : of the color copper or copper brown
III. transitive verb
( coppered ; coppered ; coppering -p(ə)riŋ ; coppers )
1. : to cover, coat, or sheathe with or as if with copper
2. : to treat with copper or a copper compound
3.
a. : to lay a copper cent or token upon or against (a card or bet) in the game of faro to indicate that the player bets against its winning
b. : hedge
IV. noun
( -s )
Etymology: cop (II) + -er
: one that cops : an operator of a copping machine
V. noun
( -s )
Etymology: cop (IV) + -er
slang : policeman