mercury
UK /ˈmɜːkjʊ.ɹi/ · US /ˈmɝ.kjə.ɹi/ noun, verb, proper noun
Forms mercuries mercurying mercuried mercurie
- noun A silvery-coloured, metallic chemical element with the atomic number 80; it is liquid at room temperature, and toxic.
- noun Preceded by the: mercury (noun sense 1) as used in the column of a barometer or thermometer, its fall or rise thus indicating the decrease or increase of ambient pressure or temperature. “The mercury there has averaged 37.6°C, 2.3°C above the February norm.”
- noun (medicine, historical) A preparation containing mercury (noun sense 1), especially calomel (mercurous chloride) or corrosive sublimate (mercuric chloride), formerly used as a medicine to treat syphilis, etc.
- noun (sciences, historical) One of the elemental principles formerly thought to be present in all metals.
- noun (figurative, obsolete) Liveliness, volatility.
- noun An annual plant, now generally called annual mercury (Mercurialis annua), chiefly native to central and southern Europe which was formerly grown for its medicinal properties; French mercury, herb mercury.
- noun Any of several plants of the genus Mercurialis; specifically (obsolete), dog's mercury or wild mercury (Mercurialis perennis).
- noun (Northern England) Allgood or Good King Henry (Blitum bonus-henricus), a species of goosefoot native to central and southern Europe formerly cultivated as a vegetable but now generally regarded as a weed; English mercury, false mercury (obsolete).
- verb (historical) To apply or coat (something) with mercury (noun sense 1) or a preparation containing mercury.
- verb (specifically, historical, obsolete, rare), to apply to (the face) a preparation of mercury to beautify it
- verb (medicine, historical) To administer to (someone) a medicine containing mercury.
- proper noun (astronomy) The first planet in the Solar system with the closest orbit to the Sun, named after the god; represented by ☿.
- proper noun (Roman mythology) The Roman god associated with speed, sometimes used as a messenger, wearing winged sandals; the Roman counterpart of the Greek god Hermes.
- noun (obsolete, alchemy, chemistry) Quicksilver, mercury. (No longer capitalized, as the name of the metal is no longer recognized as that of the planet.)
- noun A newsboy, a messenger.
- noun A footman.
- noun Someone who carries messages between lovers; a go-between.
- noun A newspaper.
Synonyms
mul:Hg mul:☿ azoth hydrargyrum quicksilver mercurial ☿ Hg atomic number 80
Etymology
The noun is derived from Middle English mercurie (“metallic chemical element, quicksilver; a plant, probably goosefoot (genus Chenopodium); (possibly) dog’s mercury (Mercurialis perennis); etc.”), borrowed from Late Latin mercurius (“metallic chemical element, quicksilver”), Latin Mercurius (“Mercury, the Roman god of commerce, communication, etc.; the planet Mercury; etc.”), possibly from merc-, a stem of merx (“goods, wares; merchandise”); further etymology uncertain, possibly:
* from Proto-Indo-European *merǵ- (“to divide”), or *merkʷ- (“to grasp; to take”).
The suffix -urius is also thought to be from Etruscan.
Noun sense 1 (“metallic chemical element”) is from the association in medieval alchemy of the seven known metals—gold, silver, quicksilver, copper, iron, tin, and lead—with the Sun, the Moon, and the planets Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. An analogy was probably also drawn between the element being liquid at room temperature, and the Roman god Mercury’s attribute of swiftness.
Noun sense 2 (“senses relating to plants”) is derived from mercurial (“(obsolete) any of the plants now known as mercury”, noun), from Middle English mercurial (“a plant, probably goosefoot (genus Chenopodium); (possibly) dog’s mercury (Mercurialis perennis)”, noun) from Anglo-Norman mercurial, Old French mercurial, or directly from their etymon Latin mercuriālis (“a plant, probably annual mercury (Mercurialis annua)”), short for herba mercuriālis (“(probably) annual mercury”, literally “herb or plant of the god Mercury”). Mercuriālis (“pertaining to the Roman god Mercury”, adjective) is derived from Mercurius (“the Roman god Mercury”) (see above) + -ālis (suffix forming adjectives of relationship from nouns).
Noun sense 2.2.2.1 (“Blitum bonus-henricus”) is from the fact that this plant was often confused with annual mercury (noun sense 2.1).
The verb is derived from the noun.
Inherited from Middle English Mercurie, from Latin Mercurius.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A Latin god of commerce and gain; --treated by the poets as identical with the Greek Hermes, messenger of the gods, conductor of souls to the lower world, and god of eloquence.
- noun A metallic element mostly obtained by reduction from cinnabar, one of its ores. It is a heavy, opaque, glistening liquid (commonly called quicksilver), and is used in barometers, thermometers, ect. Specific gravity 13.6. Symbol Hg (Hydrargyrum). Atomic weight 199.8.
- verb To wash with a preparation of mercury. [Obs.] B. Jonson.
Etymology [L. Mercurius; akin to merx wares.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “mercury”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details