mercury
Meanings
- Senses relating to the metal.
- A silvery-coloured, metallic chemical element (symbol Hg) with the atomic number 80; it is liquid at room temperature, and toxic.
- Preceded by the: mercury (noun sense 1.1) 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.
- A preparation containing mercury (noun sense 1.1), especially calomel (mercurous chloride) or corrosive sublimate (mercuric chloride), formerly used as a medicine to treat syphilis, etc.
- One of the elemental principles formerly thought to be present in all metals.
- Liveliness, volatility.
- Senses relating to plants.
- 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.
- Chiefly with a descriptive word.
- Any of several plants of the genus Mercurialis; specifically (obsolete), dog's mercury or wild mercury (Mercurialis perennis).
- Any of several plants resembling Mercurialis plants but of a different genus, or having similar medicinal or toxic qualities as annual mercury or dog's mercury.
- 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).
- To apply or coat (something) with mercury (noun sense 1.1) or a preparation containing mercury.
- to apply to (the face) a preparation of mercury to beautify it
- To administer to (someone) a medicine containing mercury.
- The first planet in the Solar system with the closest orbit to the Sun, named after the god; represented by ☿.
- The Roman god associated with speed, sometimes used as a messenger, wearing winged sandals; the Roman counterpart of the Greek god Hermes.
- Ellipsis of Mercury Drug.
- Quicksilver, mercury. (No longer capitalized, as the name of the metal is no longer recognized as that of the planet.)
- A carrier of tidings.
- A newsboy, a messenger.
- A footman.
- Someone who carries messages between lovers; a go-between.
- A newspaper.
Pronunciation
Word forms
Etymology
Etymology tree Latin mercuriusder. Middle English mercurie English mercury 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 Etruscan; or * 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 1.1 (“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.