Quicksilver

From Fresh Dictionary

Contents

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English

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Etymology

Middle English quyksilver from Anglo Saxon cwicseolfor. Literally "living silver" from its ability to move. See quick in the sense of living.

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Noun

quicksilver

  1. the metal mercury
    • The rogue fled from me like quicksilver - Shakespeare, Henry IV part 2, II-iv
    • 1820: Thou hast quicksilver in the veins of thee to a certainty. - Walter Scott, The Abbot
  2. (colloquial{{#if:|, {{{2}}}{{#if:|, {{{3}}}{{#if:|, {{{4}}}{{#if:|, {{{5}}}{{#if:|, {{{6}}}{{#if:|, {{{7}}}{{#if:|, {{{8}}}{{#if:|, {{{9}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}) 
an amalgam of mercury and tin applied to the backs of mirrors, quicksilvering
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Derived expressions

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Translations

mercury

amalgam used on mirrors

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Translations to be checked

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Adjective

quicksilver

  1. unpredictable, erratic or fickle; mercurial
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Verb

  1. to overlay with quicksilver
  2. to treat with quicksilver
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References

  • Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (G & C. Merriam Co., 1913, edited by Noah Porter), ARTFL version at [1]
  • The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1914


it:quicksilver

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