[O.E.] A metal, so called from the island of Cyprus, where the Greeks and Romans obtained it. Metallic copper is found in the United States, but it is generally prepared from its ores, of which there are several, found in most European countries, as well as in North and South America, Africa, Australia, and Japan. The principal localities in the United States are Michigan, Montana, and Arizona. It can be obtained from its ores at a comparatively low temperature; which accounts for its extensive use in the early stages of civilization. Metallic copper possesses a deep, red color, takes on a brilliant polish, is very malleable and ductile, and as a conductor of heat and electricity it comes next to silver. It is not acted on by water, nor by exposure to dry air, but in moist air it becomes coated with green car-bonate. Red oxide of copper is used for coloring glass. Blue vitriol is the sulphate, and is much used in dyeing and in the preparation of paints. Copper mixed with tin is bell-metal, and with less tin is bronze; with zinc, it is brass or pinchpeck.