mercury

American  

[mur-kyuh-ree] / ˈmɜr kyə ri /

noun

PLURAL

mercuries

1. Chemistry.  a heavy, silver-white, highly toxic metallic element, the only one that is liquid at room temperature; quicksilver: used in barometers, thermometers, pesticides, pharmaceutical preparations, reflecting surfaces of mirrors, and dental fillings, in certain switches, lamps, and other electric apparatus, and as a laboratory catalyst. Hg; 200.59; 80; 13.546 at 20°C; freezing point: −38.9°C; boiling point: 357°C.

2. Pharmacology.  this metal as used in medicine, in the form of various organic and inorganic compounds, usually for skin infections.

3. (initial capital letter)  the ancient Roman god who served as messenger of the gods and was also the god of commerce, thievery, eloquence, and science, identified with the Greek god Hermes.

4. (initial capital letter)  the planet nearest the sun, having a diameter of 3,031 miles (4,878 km), a mean distance from the sun of 36 million miles (57.9 million km), and a period of revolution of 87.96 days, and having no satellites: the smallest planet in the solar system.

5. a messenger, especially a carrier of news.

6. any plant belonging to the genus Mercurialis, of the spurge family, especially the poisonous, weedy M. perennis of Europe.

7. Good-King-Henry.

8. (initial capital letter)  one of a series of U.S. spacecraft, carrying one astronaut, that achieved the first U.S. suborbital and orbital manned spaceflights.

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mercury ¹ British  

/ ˈmɜːkjʊrɪ /

noun

1. Also called: quicksilver.   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. any plant of the euphorbiaceous genus Mercurialis See dog's mercury

3. archaic  a messenger or courier

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Mercury ² British  

/ ˈmɜːkjʊrɪ /

noun

1. Greek counterpart: Hermes.  Roman myth the messenger of the gods

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Mercury ³ British  

/ ˈmɜːkjʊrɪ /

noun

1. 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

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Mercury ¹ Scientific  

1. The planet closest to the Sun and the smallest in the solar system. Mercury is a terrestrial or inner planet, second in density only to Earth, with a rugged, heavily-cratered surface similar in appearance to Earth's Moon. Its rotational period of 58.6 days is two-thirds of its 88-day orbital period, thus, it makes three full axial rotations every two years. Mercury's atmosphere is almost nonexistent; this fact, which produces rapid radiational cooling on its dark side, together with its proximity to the Sun, gives it a temperature range greater than any other planet in the solar system, from 466° to −184°C (870° to −300°F). Because it is so close to the Sun, Mercury is only visible shortly before sunrise or after sunset, and observation is further hindered by the fact that its light must pass obliquely through the lower atmosphere where it is distorted or filtered by dust and pollution.

2. See Table at solar system

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mercury ² Scientific  

/ mûr′kyə-rē /

1. A silvery-white, dense, poisonous metallic element that is a liquid at room temperature and is used in thermometers, barometers, batteries, and pesticides. Atomic number 80; atomic weight 200.59; melting point −38.87°C; boiling point 356.58°C; specific gravity 13.546 (at 20°C); valence 1, 2.

2. See Periodic Table

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Mercury ¹ Cultural  

1. The Roman name of Hermes, the messenger of the Greek and Roman gods.

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Mercury ² Cultural  

1. In astronomy, the planet closest to the sun, named after the fleet-footed messenger of the Roman gods (see under “Mythology and Folklore”) because of its swift movement in its orbit. Mercury takes only eighty-eight days to go around the sun. (See solar system.)

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mercury ³ Cultural  

1. In chemistry, a heavy, silvery metallic element, a liquid at normal temperatures. Mercury expands or contracts rapidly in response to changes in temperature and therefore was once widely used in thermometers.

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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.

Discover More

The planet nearest the sun is named Mercury. It moves swiftly in its orbit like the messenger of the gods.

Mercury is sometimes visible from the Earth as a morning or evening star.

The term mercury is used figuratively in such expressions as “The mercury's rising” to mean that the temperature is going up.

Etymology

Origin of mercury

1300–50; Middle English Mercurie < Medieval Latin, Latin Mercurius, akin to merx goods

Example Sentences

Gold and silver, along with arsenic, antimony, and mercury, accumulate in the surrounding rocks.

From Science Daily

Nations meeting in Geneva agreed "to end the use of dental amalgam by 2034, marking a historic milestone in reducing mercury pollution", the conference announced in its closing statement.

From Barron's

“If built, the pipeline would tear up 23 miles of miles of the New York-New Jersey Harbor floor; destroy marine habitats; and dredge up mercury, copper, PCBs and other toxins.”

From Barron's

Other forms of energy, such as oil and coal, also pose considerable health and safety risks including the emission of air pollution — soot, mercury, nitrogen dioxide and carbon dioxide contributing to climate change.

From Los Angeles Times

Angelenos may breathe a sigh of relief as the mercury dips after late summer heat waves.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• earth