Traditionally, a cooper is someone who makes wooden barrels, kasks , buckets and other similar wooden objects. The word is derived from cupa, the Latin word for vat . Barrel making is referred to as cooperage.

Sometimes—in more modern times—the profession of the cooper is specific to wine distilleries, where the cooper would look after the aging barrels in which the wine is stored.

While plastic containers have replaced most wooden containers and obsoleted the cooper, there is still demand for high quality wooden barrels, and it is thought that the highest quality ones are hand-made by professional coopers.

Sometimes, rarely today, coffin-makers are known as coopers.

See also: List of occupations