[kop-er] 
| 1. | a malleable, ductile, metallic element having a characteristic reddish-brown color: used in large quantities as an electrical conductor and in the manufacture of alloys, as brass and bronze. Symbol: Cu; atomic weight: 63.54; atomic number: 29; specific gravity: 8.92 at 20°C. |
| 2. | a metallic reddish brown. |
| 3. | a coin composed of copper, bronze, or the like, as the U.S. cent or the British penny. |
| 4. | any of several butterflies of the family Lycaenidae, as Lycaena hypophleas (American copper), having copper-colored wings spotted and edged with black. |
| 5. | a container made of copper. |
| 6. | a tool partly or wholly made of copper: a soldering copper. |
| 7. | British. a large kettle, now usually made of iron, used for cooking or to boil laundry. |
| 8. | made of copper: copper kettles. |
| 9. | reddish-brown; coppery: The copper sun sank into the sea. |
| a stream in S Alaska, flowing through the SE part. 300 mi. (483 km) long. |
| cop·per 1 (kŏp'ər) n.
[Middle English coper, from Old English, from Late Latin cuprum, from Latin Cyprium (aes), Cyprian (metal), from Cyprius, of Cyprus, from Greek Kuprios, from Kupros, Cyprus.] cop'per·y adj. |
| cop·per 2 (kŏp'ər) n. Slang A police officer. [From cop2.] |
copper cop·per (kŏp'ər)
n.
Symbol Cu
A ductile malleable metallic element that is an excellent conductor of heat and electricity and is used for electrical wiring, water piping, and corrosion-resistant parts, either pure or in alloys such as brass and bronze. Atomic number 29; atomic weight 63.546; melting point 1,085°C; boiling point 2,562°C; specific gravity 8.96; valence 1, 2.
copper
Conventional electrical network cable with a core conductor of copper (or aluminium!)
Opposed to light pipe or, say, a short-range microwave link.
[The Jargon File]
(1994-11-30)
Copper
derived from the Greek kupros (the island of Cyprus), called "Cyprian brass," occurs only in the Authorized Version in Ezra 8:27. Elsewhere the Hebrew word (nehosheth) is improperly rendered "brass," and sometimes "steel" (2 Sam. 22:35; Jer. 15:12). The "bow of steel" (Job 20:24; Ps. 18:34) should have been "bow of copper" (or "brass," as in the R.V.). The vessels of "fine copper" of Ezra 8:27 were probably similar to those of "bright brass" mentioned in 1 Kings 7:45; Dan. 10:6. Tubal-cain was the first artificer in brass and iron (Gen. 4:22). Hiram was noted as a worker in brass (1 Kings 7:14). Copper abounded in Palestine (Deut. 8:9; Isa. 60:17; 1 Chr. 22:3, 14). All sorts of vessels in the tabernacle and the temple were made of it (Lev. 6:28; Num. 16:39; 2 Chr. 4:16; Ezra 8:27); also weapons of war (1 Sam. 17:5, 6, 38; 2 Sam. 21:16). Iron is mentioned only four times (Gen. 4:22; Lev. 26:19; Num. 31:22; 35:16) in the first four books of Moses, while copper (rendered "brass") is mentioned forty times. (See BRASS.) We find mention of Alexander (q.v.), a "coppersmith" of Ephesus (2 Tim. 4:14).