Chemistry. a white, ductile metallic element, used for making mirrors, coins, ornaments, table utensils, photographic chemicals, conductors, etc. Symbol: Ag; atomic weight: 107.870; atomic number: 47; specific gravity: 10.5 at 20°C.
coin made of this metal; specie; money: a handful of silver.
this metal as a commodity or considered as a currency standard.
table articles made of or plated with silver, including flatware and hollowware.
any flatware: The kitchen silver is of stainless steel.
something resembling this metal in color, luster, etc.
a lustrous grayish white or whitish gray, or the color of the metal: the silver of the leaves.
before 900; (noun and adj.) Middle Englishsilver(e), selver(e), selfer,Old Englishsiolfor (orig. noun); cognate with GermanSilber,Old Norsesilfr,Gothicsilubr, akin to Serbo-Croatiansrèbro,Russianserebró,Lithuaniansidãbras; (v.) late Middle Englishsilveren, derivative of the noun
Related formssil·ver·er, nounsil·ver·ish, adjectivesil·ver·less, adjectivesil·ver·like, adjectivesil·ver·ness, nounnon·sil·ver, noun, adjectivere·sil·ver, verb (used with object)
a very ductile malleable brilliant greyish-white element having the highest electrical and thermal conductivity of any metal. It occurs free and in argentite and other ores: used in jewellery, tableware, coinage, electrical contacts, and in electroplating. Its compounds are used in photography. Symbol: Ag; atomic no: 47; atomic wt: 107.8682; valency: 1 or 2; relative density: 10.50; melting pt: 961.93°C; boiling pt: 2163°C
(as modifier)a silver coin Related adjective: argent
coin made of, or having the appearance of, this metal
cutlery, whether made of silver or not
any household articles made of silver
photogany of a number of silver compounds used either as photosensitive substances in emulsions or as sensitizers
Old English seolfor, Mercian sylfur "silver; money," from Proto-Germanic *silubra- (cf. Old Saxon silvbar, Old Frisian selover, Old Norse silfr, Middle Dutch silver, Dutch zilver, Old High German silabar, German silber "silver; money," Gothic silubr "silver"), from a common Germanic/Balto-Slavic term (cf. Old Church Slavonic s(u)rebo, Russian serebro, Polish srebro, Lithuanian sidabras "silver") of uncertain relationship and origin. According to Klein's sources, possibly from a language of Asia Minor, perhaps from Akkadian sarpu "silver," literally "refined silver," related to sarapu "to refine, smelt."
As an adjective from late Old English (cf. silvern). As a color name from late 15c. Of voices, words, etc., from 1520s in reference to the metal's pleasing resonance; silver-tongued is from 1590s. The silver age (1560s) was a phrase used by Greek and Roman poets. Chemical abbreviation Ag is from Latin argentum "silver," from the usual PIE word for the metal (see argent), which is missing in Germanic.
silver
v.
"to cover or plate with silver," mid-15c., from silver (n.). Meaning "to tinge with gray" (of hair) is from c.1600. Related: Silvered; silvering.
A lustrous ductile malleable metallic element having the highest thermal and electrical conductivity of the metals and used in dental alloys and in pharmaceuticals. Atomic number 47.
A soft, shiny, white metallic element that is found in many ores, especially together with copper, lead, and zinc. It conducts heat and electricity better than any other metal. Silver is used in photography and in making electrical circuits and conductors. Atomic number 47; atomic weight 107.868; melting point 960.8°C; boiling point 2,212°C; specific gravity 10.50; valence 1, 2. See also sterling silver. See Periodic Table. See Note at element.
