cuprum

Latin

Etymology

A borrowing from Ancient Greek Κύπρος (Kúpros, “Cyprus”), from the large reserves of the metal found on the island.

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈku.prum/, [ˈkʊpɾʊ̃ˑ]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈku.prum/, [ˈkuːpɾum]

Noun

cuprum n (genitive cuprī); second declension

1. copper (the metal)

Declension

Second-declension noun (neuter).

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	cuprum	cupra
Genitive	cuprī	cuprōrum
Dative	cuprō	cuprīs
Accusative	cuprum	cupra
Ablative	cuprō	cuprīs
Vocative	cuprum	cupra

Synonyms

• aerāmen

Descendants

• Vulgar Latin: *cūbru, *cūbrum
  • Old French: cuivre, quivre, queivre, coivre
    • Bourguignon: cueuvre, cuvre
    • French: cuivre
    • → Breton: kouevr
  • Old Occitan: [Term?]
    • Catalan: coure
    • Occitan: coire
  • West Iberian
    • Asturian: cobre
    • Old Portuguese: [Term?]
      • Galician: cobre
      • Portuguese: cobre
    • Spanish: cobre
      • → Basque: kobre

Borrowings

• Germanic: *kuprą
  • Old English: copor, coper
    • Middle English: coper
      • English: copper
        • → Maori: kapa
        • → Shona: kopa
      • Scots: coper, copper
      • → Cornish: kober
      • → Irish: copar
      • → Manx: cobbyr
      • → Scottish Gaelic: copar
      • → Welsh: copor
  • Old Frisian: [Term?]
    • West Frisian: koper
  • Old Saxon: [Term?]
    • German Low German: Kopper
  • Middle Dutch: coper
    • Dutch: koper
      • Afrikaans: koper
    • Limburgish: koper, kaoper
  • Old High German: kupfar, *kuffar, koffar
    • Middle High German: kupfer, cuffer
      • German: Kupfer
      • Luxembourgish: Koffer
      • Mòcheno: kupfer
      • Vilamovian: köpfer, köpper
      • Yiddish: קופּער‎ (kuper)
  • Old Norse: koparr
    • Icelandic: kopar
    • Faroese: kopar
    • Norwegian: kobber, kopar
    • Old Danish: kopær
      • Danish: kobber
    • Old Swedish: koppar, kopar
      • Swedish: koppar
      • → Finnish: kupari
  • → Kashubian: kòper
  • → Lower Sorbian: kupor

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• Malay: kuprum
• Romanian: cupru
• ⇒ English: cupric
• ⇒ Italian: cuprico

References

• cuprum in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• cuprum in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition, 1883–1887)
• cuprum in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré Latin-Français, Hachette