hydrargyrum

[hahy-drahr-jer-uhm]

noun

1. mercury.

hydrargyrum

/ haɪˈdrɑːdʒɪrəm, ˌhaɪdrɑːˈdʒɪərɪk /

noun

1. an obsolete name for mercury

Other Word Forms

• hydrargyric adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of hydrargyrum¹

1555–65; < New Latin, equivalent to Latin hydrargyr ( us ) (< Greek hydrárgyros mercury, equivalent to hydr- hydr- ¹ + árgyros silver) + -um, on model of aurum, etc.

Word History and Origins

Origin of hydrargyrum¹

C16: from New Latin, from Latin hydrargyrus from Greek hydrarguros, from _hydro- + arguros silver

Example Sentences

Never mind the adjective, I was mercury: quicksilver, Hg, hydrargyrum, ore of cinnabar, resistant to herding, incapable of assuming a fixed form.

From Salon