نحاس

Uncertain; attested at least from the Amarna period in Northwest Semitic; compare Phoenician 𐤍𐤇𐤔 (nḥš), Hebrew נְחֹשֶׁת (n'khóshet, “copper”), Ge'ez ናሕስ (naḥs), Aramaic נחשׁ (“copper, bronze”), and Nehushtan: * From Proto-Semitic *naḥaš- (“snake, reptile; divination, incantations; to learn secret things”), such a sense derived from hissing equated to whispers. The process of extracting ore and the ability to shape metal was considered connected to arcane arts in most early societies; alternative