Mercury

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /ˈməː.kjÊŠ.ɹi/
• US IPA: /ˈmɝkjəɹi/

Origin

From Mercury.

Noun

1. A metal.
1. A silvery-colored, toxic, metallic chemical element, liquid at room temperature, with atomic number 80 and symbol Hg. from 14th c.
2. (science, historical) One of the elemental principles formerly thought to be present in all metals. from 15th c.
3. The mercury as used in a barometer or thermometer; ambient temperature. from 17th c.The mercury there has averaged 37.6C, 2.3C above the February norm.
4. (obsolete) Liveliness, volatility. 17th-18th c.
• Bishop BurnetHe was so full of mercury that he could not fix long in any friendship, or to any design.
2. A plant.
1. An annual plant, Mercurialis annua, formerly grown for its medicinal properties; French mercury. from 14th c.
• 1653, Nicholas Culpeper, The English Physician Enlarged, Folio Society 2007, p. 188:Towards the tops of the stalks and branches come forth at every joint in the male Mercury two small round green heads, standing together upon a short footstalk, which growing ripe are the seeds, not having any flower.
2. A similar edible plant, Chenopodium bonus-henricus, otherwise known as English mercury or allgood. from 15th c.
3. (US, regional) The poison oak or poison ivy. from 18th c.

Synonyms

• azoth (in alchemy)
• hydrargyrum (in medical and sometimes chemical use)
• quicksilver (not in technical use)

Derived terms

Related terms

• mercaptan
• Mercury