Copperfasten
verb ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 To protect the timbers of (a ship) with plates of copper secured with copper nails or bolts. historical, transitive
"She is copper-fastened and copper-bottomed, and a remarkable fine ship."
- 2 To reinforce, strengthen; to make permanent, embed. British, Ireland, figuratively, transitive
"We had some striking examples of what happens when a guy gets so big for his britches that any pal of his is automatically a copper-fastened genius."
Example
More examples"She is copper-fastened and copper-bottomed, and a remarkable fine ship."
Etymology
From copper + fasten. From copper sheathing of ship hulls (to protect from damage by marine organisms. Originally copper sheathing but non-copper bolts were used, leading to corrosion. Later copper bolts (fasteners) were also used, eliminating corrosion issues. Literal sense from 18th century, metaphorical sense attested 1948.
Related phrases
More for "copperfasten"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.