quicksilver
Americannoun
verb (used with object)
noun
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of quicksilver
before 1000; Middle English qwyksilver, Old English cwicseolfor (translation Latin argentum vīvum ) literally, living silver
Explanation
Use the noun quicksilver when you need a more poetic way to talk about the element known as mercury. If you look closely at an old-fashioned thermometer, you can see the quicksilver inside it. It's more common to refer to this metal — the only one that is liquid at room temperature — as mercury, but it's also correct to call it quicksilver, which describes the properties of the element very well. Quicksilver is liquid, silver colored, and is fascinating to look at. The word comes from the sense of quick that means "alive;" the Latin root is argentum vivum, which is literally "living silver."
Vocabulary lists containing quicksilver
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
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Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
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"Coming of Age in the Dawnland," Vocabulary from the historical excerpt
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
All would be lost, however, without Mays’ quicksilver brilliance — the way he can shift from savage irony to vindictive rage to godless despair in the space of a line.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 18, 2026
Expect a similarly powerful forward pack, with some quicksilver runners and astute playmakers in the backline.
From BBC • Aug. 20, 2025
Music director and conductor Stephen Oremus maintained the production’s high musical standards, bringing out the extensive palette of a rock score with quicksilver moods.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 4, 2025
Dupont, France's quicksilver XV-a-side captain, surprised the rugby world when he swapped the 2024 Six Nations for a shot at seven-a-side Olympic glory.
From BBC • Sep. 18, 2024
Dr. Hauptmanns hounds bound through frozen fields beside the school, drops of quicksilver skittering through the white.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
