Medical Dictionary
Main Entry:
cop·per·head Pronunciation:
'käp-&r-"hed Function:
noun 1 : a pit viper (
Agkistrodon contortrix) widelydistributed in upland areas of the eastern U.S. that attains a length of three feet (0.9 meter), is coppery brown above with dark transverse blotches that render it inconspicuous among fallen leaves,and is usually regarded as much less dangerous than a rattlesnake of comparable size
2 : a very venomous but sluggish Australian elapid snake of the genus
Denisonia (
D.superba)
[kop-er-hed] 
) U.S. History. a Northern Democrat who opposed the Civil War, advocating peace and restoration of the Union even if slavery continued.