Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun Chemical symbol, Cu; atomic weight, 63.3. A metal distinguished from all others by its peculiar red Color.
  • noun A vessel made of copper, particularly a large boiler; specifically, in the plural, the large kettles or boilers in a ship's galley for boiling food for the ship's company.
  • noun Hence plural The mouth, throat, and stomach, as the receptacle and digester of food. See hot coppers, below.
  • noun A copper coin; a penny; a cent; collectively, copper money; small change.
  • noun In faro, a check, small disk like a coin, or other convenient object, used to copper with. See copper, v., 2.
  • noun plural Copper butterflies. See butterfly.
  • noun A reel used by wire-drawers to wind wire upon.
  • Consisting of or resembling copper.
  • To cover or sheathe with sheets of copper: as, to copper a ship.
  • In faro, to place a copper (cent) or other token upon (a card), to indicate that the player wishes to bet against that card; bet against: as, to copper a card; to copper a bet.
  • noun The plate of copper which contains or is intended to contain on its surface the engraved or etched design prepared for printing.
  • To coat with copper: as, to copper type; also, to color by means of a salt of copper: as, to copper pickles, etc., in order to make them a bright-green color.
  • noun A policeman. See cop.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A common metal of a reddish color, both ductile and malleable, and very tenacious. It is one of the best conductors of heat and electricity. Symbol Cu. Atomic weight 63.3. It is one of the most useful metals in itself, and also in its alloys, brass and bronze.
  • noun colloq. A coin made of copper; a penny, cent, or other minor coin of copper.
  • noun A vessel, especially a large boiler, made of copper.
  • noun (Naut.) the boilers in the galley for cooking.
  • noun (Zoöl.) See Chaffinch.
  • noun (Min.) See Chalcocite.
  • noun (Min.) See Covelline.
  • transitive verb To cover or coat with copper; to sheathe with sheets of copper.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun slang, law enforcement A policeman.
  • noun uncountable a reddish-brown, malleable, ductile metallic element with high electrical and thermal conductivity, symbol Cu, and atomic number 29.
  • noun countable Something made of copper.
  • noun The reddish-brown colour/color of copper.
  • noun countable A copper coin.
  • noun UK, archaic A large pot, often used for heating water or washing clothes over a fire.
  • adjective Made of copper.
  • adjective Having the reddish-brown colour/color of copper.
  • verb To sheathe or coat with copper.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a reddish-brown color resembling the color of polished copper
  • noun a copper penny
  • noun any of various small butterflies of the family Lycaenidae having coppery wings
  • noun a ductile malleable reddish-brown corrosion-resistant diamagnetic metallic element; occurs in various minerals but is the only metal that occurs abundantly in large masses; used as an electrical and thermal conductor
  • verb coat with a layer of copper
  • noun uncomplimentary terms for a policeman

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From cop (verb) ("to take, capture") +‎ -er (“agent suffix”)

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English coper, from Old English coper, copor ("copper"), from Late Latin cuprum ("copper"), contraction of Latin (aes) Cyprium (literally "brass of Cyprus"), from Ancient Greek Κύπρος (Kupros, "Cyprus"). Cognate with Dutch koper ("copper"), German Kupfer ("copper"), Icelandic kopar ("copper").

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Examples

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  • Cu.

    Can be spelled with the Periodic Table of Elements symbols: CoPPEr

    December 12, 2006

  • She said "You ain’t ugly, you can kiss me if you like"

    Go ahead and kiss her, you don’t know what you’re missing

    You said "Baby, you’re special,

    But there’s something not quite right."

    She’s a Venus in flares and you wanna split hairs!

    "Oh I am innocent, you are a rocket.

    Things were ok till you took out the copper"

    Leave me alone, and get used to the chains

    You’re a pain!

    (White collar boy, by Belle and Sebastian)

    April 27, 2009