[Ads-l] Antedating of "Copperhead" (Southern Sympathizer in Civil War)

[Shapiro, Fred]

The OED's entry for "Copperhead" meaning a Northerner sympathetic to the Confederacy has a first citation of 1863, with a misguided undocumented assertion "Originated in autumn of 1862."

Copperhead (OED 1863)  1861 The Independent (New York) 8 Aug. 3 (ProQuest)  Copperheads. — The sympathizers with the Southern rebellion, residing in Bergen county, held a meeting at Schrealenburg on Tuesday.

Fred Shapiro


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