mercury
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Mer·cu·ry
(mûr′kyə-rē)n.
1. Roman Mythology A god that served as messenger to the other gods and was himself the god of commerce, travel, and thievery.
2. The smallest of the planets and the one nearest the sun, having a sidereal period of revolution about the sun of 87.97 days at a mean distance of 57.91 million kilometers (35.98 million miles) and a mean radius of approximately 2,440 kilometers (1,516 miles).
[Middle English Mercurie, from Old French, from Latin Mercurius.]
mer·cu·ry
(mûr′kyə-rē)n.
1. Symbol Hg A silvery-white poisonous metallic element, liquid at room temperature and used in thermometers, barometers, vapor lamps, and batteries and in the preparation of chemical pesticides. Atomic number 80; atomic weight 200.59; melting point -38.83°C; boiling point 356.62°C; specific gravity 13.546 (at 20°C); valence 1, 2. Also called quicksilver. See Periodic Table.
2. Temperature: The mercury had fallen rapidly by morning.
3. Any of several weedy plants of the genera Mercurialis and Acalypha.
[Middle English mercurie, from Medieval Latin mercurius, from Latin Mercurius, Mercury.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
mercury
(ˈmɜːkjʊrɪ)n, pl -ries
1. (Elements & Compounds) Also called: quicksilver or hydrargyrum a heavy silvery-white toxic liquid metallic element occurring principally in cinnabar: used in thermometers, barometers, mercury-vapour lamps, and dental amalgams. Symbol: Hg; atomic no: 80; atomic wt: 200.59; valency: 1 or 2; relative density: 13.546; melting pt: –38.842°C; boiling pt: 357°C
2. (Plants) any plant of the euphorbiaceous genus Mercurialis. See dog's mercury
3. archaic a messenger or courier
[C14: from Latin Mercurius messenger of Jupiter, god of commerce; related to merx merchandise]
Mercury
(ˈmɜːkjʊrɪ)n
(Classical Myth & Legend) Roman myth the messenger of the gods. Greek counterpart: Hermes
Mercury
(ˈmɜːkjʊrɪ)n
(Celestial Objects) the second smallest planet and the nearest to the sun. Mean distance from sun: 57.9 million km; period of revolution around sun: 88 days; period of axial rotation: 59 days; diameter and mass: 38 and 5.4 per cent that of earth respectively
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
mer•cu•ry
(ˈmɜr kyə ri)n., pl. -ries.
1. a heavy, silver-white, toxic metallic element, liquid at room temperature: used in barometers, thermometers, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, mirror surfaces, and as a laboratory catalyst; quicksilver. Symbol: Hg; at. wt.: 200.59; at. no.: 80; sp. gr.: 13.546 at 20°C; freezing point:−38.9°C; boiling point: 357°C.
2. this metal as used in medicine, in the form of various compounds, usu. for skin infections.
3. temperature: The mercury climbed to over a hundred today.
4. (cap.) the Roman god of commerce, thievery, eloquence, and science, and messenger to the other gods: identified with the Greek god Hermes.
5. (cap.) the planet nearest the sun, having a diameter of 3031 mi. (4878 km), a mean distance from the sun of 36 million mi. (57.9 million km), and a period of revolution of 87.96 days, and having no satellites.
6. any plant belonging to the genus Mercurialis, of the spurge family, esp. the poisonous, weedy M. perennis of Europe.
7. any of several common weeds with spinachlike leaves, esp. weeds of the goosefoot family.
8. a messenger.
[1300–50; Middle English Mercurie < Medieval Latin, Latin Mercurius, akin to merx goods]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
mer·cu·ry
(mûr′kyə-rē) Symbol Hg A silvery-white, dense, poisonous metallic element that is a liquid at room temperature. It is used to make thermometers and pesticides. Atomic number 80. See Periodic Table.
Word History Like a few other elements, mercury has a chemical symbol, Hg, that bears no resemblance to its name. This is because Hg is an abbreviation of the Latin name of the element, which was hydrargium. This word in turn was taken over from Greek, where it literally meant "water-silver." With this name the Greeks were referring to the fact that mercury is a silvery liquid at room temperature, rather than a solid like other metals. Similarly, an older English name for this element is quicksilver, which means "living silver," referring to its ability to move like a living thing. (The word quick used to mean "alive," as in the Biblical phrase "the quick and the dead.") The name mercury refers to the fact that the element flows about quickly: the name comes from the Roman god Mercury, who was the swift-footed messenger of the gods.
Mercury
The planet closest to the sun and the second smallest, with a diameter about two-fifths that of Earth. Mercury's surface is covered with mountains, craters, ridges, and valleys. It orbits the sun once every 88 days, the shortest amount of time for any planet. See Table at solar system. See Note at planet.
The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
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| Noun | 1. |  mercury - a heavy silvery toxic univalent and bivalent metallic element; the only metal that is liquid at ordinary temperaturesmetal, metallic element - any of several chemical elements that are usually shiny solids that conduct heat or electricity and can be formed into sheets etc. cinnabar - a heavy reddish mineral consisting of mercuric sulfide; the chief source of mercury calomel, mercurous chloride - a tasteless colorless powder used medicinally as a cathartic |
| 2. |  Mercury - (Roman mythology) messenger of Jupiter and god of commerce; counterpart of Greek HermesRoman mythology - the mythology of the ancient Romans | |
| 3. |  Mercury - the smallest planet and the nearest to the sunsolar system - the sun with the celestial bodies that revolve around it in its gravitational field | |
| 4. |  mercury - temperature measured by a mercury thermometer; "the mercury was falling rapidly"temperature - the degree of hotness or coldness of a body or environment (corresponding to its molecular activity) |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Translations
زِئْبَقزِئْبَقٌ
Меркурий
rtuťMerkur
kviksølvMerkur
hidrargo
elavhõbeMercuriusMerkuur
elohopeaMerkurius
živaMerkur
higanyMerkúr
merkurius
kvikasilfurMerkúríus
メルクリウス水銀
수은
hydrargyrumMercurius
gyvsidabrisMerkurijus
dzīvsudrabs
kvikksølvMerkur
rtęćMerkury
Merkúr
Merkurživo srebro
kvicksilverMerkurius
ธาตุปรอท
thuỷthủy ngân
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
mercury
(ˈməːkjuri) noun an element, a poisonous, silvery, liquid metal used especially in thermometers etc.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
mercury
→ زِئْبَقٌ rtuť kviksølv Quecksilber υδράργυρος mercurio elohopea mercure živa mercurio 水銀 수은 kwik kvikksølv rtęć mercúrio ртуть kvicksilver ธาตุปรอท cıva thủy ngân 水银Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009
mer·cu·ry
n. mercurio, metal líquido volátil;
___ poisoning → envenenamiento por ___.
English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012
mercury
n mercurioEnglish-Spanish/Spanish-English Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.