Other forms: mercurys
Mercury is a metal that is liquid at room temperature. A mercury thermometer, mercury poisoning, the mercury rose.
It is the only metal liquid in ordinary conditions, and it is badly poisonous, which is why thermometers and fillings have largely moved away from it. The mercury rose is a way of saying the temperature went up. Note the planet and the Roman god of the same name.
1nounmercuryA metal that is liquid at room temperature.
“Old thermometers contained mercury, which is poisonous if the glass breaks.”
mercury is a metal.
Named after the Roman god Mercury, the swift messenger, because the metal runs so quickly. The planet has the same name.
Proto-Indo-European
*merǵ-
Latin
mercurius
Middle English
mercurie
English, today
mercury
Built from
From Middle English mercurie, from Latin mercurius. The is derived from Middle English mercurie (“metallic chemical element, quicksilver; a plant, probably goosefoot (genus Chenopodium); (possibly) dog’s mercury (Mercurialis perennis); etc.”), borrowed from Latin mercurius (“metallic chemical element, quicksilver”), Latin Mercurius (“Mercury, the Roman god of commerce, communication, etc.; the planet Mercury; etc.”), possibly from merc-, a of merx (“goods, wares; merchandise”); further etymology uncertain, possibly:
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA