copperhead

[ kop-er-hed ]

noun

1. a venomous snake, Agkistrodon ( Ancistrodon ) contortrix, of the eastern and southern U.S., having a light-brown to copper-red body marked with darker bands.
2. an extremely venomous but sluggish snake, Denisonia superba, of Australia and Tasmania, having a reddish to black body, depending on the region.
3. Copperhead,
   1. U.S. History. a Northern Democrat who opposed the Civil War, advocating peace and restoration of the Union even if slavery continued.
   2. Military. a finned, 155 mm cannon-launched U.S. Army artillery shell that homes on the target, using the reflection of a laser beam projected by a forward observer.

copperhead

/ ˈkɒpəˌhɛd /

noun

1. a venomous reddish-brown snake, Agkistrodon contortrix, of the eastern US: family Crotalidae (pit vipers)
2. a venomous reddish-brown Australian elapid snake, Denisonia superba
3. informal.
   a Yankee supporter of the South during the Civil War

Word History and Origins

Origin of copperhead¹

An Americanism dating back to 1765–75; copper ¹ + head

Example Sentences

I fully expect the same slur to come out in relation to “Copperhead.”

From The Daily Beast

I'll keep him agin fifty-'leven o' that old snortin' rebel and Copperhead Blowhard Billings.

From Project Gutenberg

Then why waste your labors, brave hearts and strong men, In tracking a trail to the Copperhead's den?

From Project Gutenberg

I am goaded to these remarks by the strictures of the Copperhead press, but I make them in no spirit of boasting.

From Project Gutenberg

The tactics of that Copperhead Camp he talks so much about are hardly applicable to conditions here.

From Project Gutenberg

Between the verses the leader would curse the Iowa Senator as a traitor and copperhead.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• cobra