mercury

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a heavy, silvery chemical element that is liquid at ordinary temperatures

   Old thermometers often used mercury.

2. 2
   noun

   the temperature shown by a mercury thermometer

   The mercury fell as the storm arrived.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Mercury was the Roman god of trade, eloquence, skill, and thieving, and his name is related to Latin merx, “merchandise.” Later Latin used Mercurius for the silvery liquid metal, probably because its fluid movement suggested the god’s speed. English adopted this metallic sense in the Middle Ages, replacing the older name quicksilver.

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 *me...

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