kalyan97@...> wrote:
>Latin cuprum, from Latin Cyprium (aes), Cyprian (metal), from
>Cyprius, from Greek Kuprios, from Kupros, Cyprus.
Kuprios as copper seems relatively rare in early Greek. I don't think it's in
Homer. The word that seems to refer most often to copper and/or bronze was
<chalkos>, an interesting word. I'm not so sure the differences between
"pure copper" and its various alloys (like bronze) were fully comprehended by
the general public until well into the iron age, especially since
arsenic-copper bronze could frequently be produced accidently with no
apparent explanation. The tradition of the copper/bronze smith was so strong
that <chalkeus> remained the primary name for smith into the iron age.
<oreichalkos> (mountain copper), <chalkolithos> (copper stone) were both used
to describe copper ore. An ore from Cyprus was described as <misu>.
There are different processes involved here. One was the mining and
transport of ore once surface sources were insufficient. Then, the smelting o
f copper - it is thought this would have been the work of potters who had the
only furnaces that could reach the required temperatures. Early copper would
have been smelted before it was worked. And such words as the Cretan
<kauches> and the Greek <kausis>, <kaminokauste:s>, <chalkochutos>, <choanos>
and <chusis> all referred to the melting and casting aspects of copper or
metal making. Forging - hammering the metal - involved words like <elauno:>
and <tupoto:>. More complex work was represented by words like <chalko-toreo:
> and <toros>, which seem to refer to turning, melding and etching.
It should be noted that currently the earliest evidence of bronze-making (and
therefore copper working) seems to be from Thailand (Ban Chiang). The last
dates I've heard is about 5500BC.
Miguel Carrasquer Vidal wrote:
<<The PIE for copper/ore was *h2ayes (Lat. aes, Skt. ayas, E. ore).>>
Do you see any relatedness in Gr <oros>, mountain, hill; <oreios>, of the
mountains; <oreichalkos> mountain copper/bronze?
Steve