cuprum

Forms

cuprum n (genitive cuprī); second declension^[1] The spelling cyprum also occurs, and Georges heads the word under it.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is from Latin cyprium (“copper”), short for aes Cyprium (“Cyprian copper”),^[1][3] named after the island of Cyprus, where copper was mined.^[1][4] The adjective is Cyprius (“of Cyprus”), from Ancient Greek Κύπρος (Kúpros, “Cyprus”).^[5][4] The TLL describes the noun as altered from the neuter ⟨cyprium⟩.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLL's earliest instance of the noun is in Pliny the Elder (23/24–79 AD), where glass is melted with copper and soda added, though some manuscripts there read cyprio;^[3][5] the older usage was the adjective, as in aes Cyprium.^[3][6]

Semantic evolution

In later antiquity it named copper in general: Solinus has it of a kind of diamond found in copper veins, the Edict of Diocletian lists it, and Spartianus' life of Caracalla mentions lattices of bronze or copper in his baths;^[3][2][7] Vegetius and Marcellus use it too.^[3] Isidore of Seville explains Cyprian copper as first found on the island of Cyprus.^[3]

In Medieval Latin it remained the word for copper, its ores and alloys, in mining, coinage and tolls, and by metonymy it meant a bell;^[8][9] British sources also use it figuratively of base metal and for a copper vessel.^[10] It is the source of the Germanic word for copper, Old English coper and Old High German kupfar,^[4][5] and of Old French coevre and Spanish cobre.^[3]

Timeline

• 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder probably uses it of copper added in glassmaking.^[3][5]
• first half of the 3rd century AD – Solinus speaks of a diamond found in copper.^[3][5]
• c. 400 AD – Vegetius uses it in his veterinary treatise.^[3][5]
• c. 1100 – Theophilus describes copper as mined from the earth.^[8][5]

Meanings

Noun

1. copper.^{[3][7][11][8]}
2. (Medieval Latin) bronze or brass, an alloy of copper.^[8][12]
3. (Medieval Latin) A copper ore, such as pyrites or malachite.^[8]
4. (Medieval Latin) A bell.^[8][5]
5. (Medieval Latin, figurative) Base metal.^[10]
6. (Medieval Latin) A copper vessel.^[10]

Related words

• aes
• English copper

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
8. ^ a b c d e f Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
9. ^ Bartal, Antal, et al. (1987–), Lexicon Latinitatis Medii Aevi Hungariae, Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó; online ed. ELTE
10. ^ a b c Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
11. ^ Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
12. ^ Latinitatis medii aevi lexicon Bohemorum / Slovník středověké latiny v českých zemích (1977–), Prague: Academia; electronic version, Institute of Philosophy of the Czech Academy of Sciences