Coppers

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cop·per¹

(kŏp′ər)

1. Symbol Cu A ductile, malleable, reddish-brown metallic element that is an excellent conductor of heat and electricity and is widely 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. See Periodic Table.

2. A coin, usually of small denomination, made of copper or a copper alloy.

3. Chiefly British A large cooking pot made of copper or often of iron.

4. Any of various small butterflies of the subfamily Lycaeninae, having predominantly copper-colored wings.

5. A reddish brown.

tr.v. cop·pered, cop·per·ing, cop·pers

1. To coat or finish with a layer of copper.

2. Slang To bet against, as in faro.

[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·per²

(kŏp′ər)

n. Slang

A police officer.

[From cop.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Coppers

Copperas (hydrated ferrous sulfate).

References in classic literature ?

Two small American children and one gave the old man a franc and three copper coins, and both started away; but they were called back, and the franc and one of the coppers were restored to them.

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He was only about as tall as Dorothy herself, and his body was round as a ball and made out of burnished copper. Also his head and limbs were copper, and these were jointed or hinged to his body in a peculiar way, with metal caps over the joints, like the armor worn by knights in days of old.

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'You are a fine fellow!' said the Soldier, and put him on the Witch's apron, took as much copper as his pockets could hold; then he shut the chest, put the dog on it again, and went into the second room.

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In a frenzy of despair, I bent to the grandfather of all paddles in a hopeless effort to escape, and still the copper giant behind me gained and gained.

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[Explaining to the note taker] She thought you was a copper's nark, sir.

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"There is a small copper mine in Utah called the Royal Hardwell Copper Mine.

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The texture of the waistcoat was held together by bands of copper, which crossed the chest, protecting it from the great pressure of the water, and leaving the lungs free to act; the sleeves ended in gloves, which in no way restrained the movement of the hands.

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It was called Mill Pond Bank, Chinks's Basin; and I had no other guide to Chinks's Basin than the Old Green Copper Rope-Walk.

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When the big fellows wanted to unload Little Copper, they sent Jakey Fallow into the New York Stock Exchange to yell out: 'I'll buy all or any part of Little Copper at fifty five,' Little Copper being at fifty-four.

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Momaya was determined to give all that Bukawai asked if she could do no better, but haggling is second nature to black barterers, and in the end it partly repaid her, for a compromise finally was reached which included three fat goats, a new sleeping mat, and a piece of copper wire.

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The Copper Beeches, five miles on the far side of Winchester.

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See with what entire freedom the whaleman takes his handful of lamps --often but old bottles and vials, though --to the copper cooler at the try-works, and replenishes them there, as mugs of ale at a vat.

Coppers

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cop·per 2

Coppers

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