Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Unpredictable; mercurial.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To overlay with quicksilver; treat with quicksilver: chiefly used in the past and present participles.
- noun The common popular designation of the metal mercury. See
mercury , 6, and mercurial. - noun A term popularly applied to the amalgam of mercury and tin on the back of a common mirror.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Chem.) The metal mercury; -- so called from its resemblance to liquid silver.
- noun a mercurial artificial horizon. See under
Horizon . - noun a solution of mercury nitrate used in artificial silvering; quick water.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun The metal
mercury . - noun colloquial An amalgam of mercury and tin applied to the backs of mirrors,
quicksilvering . - adjective
Unpredictable ,erratic orfickle ;mercurial . - verb To
overlay with quicksilver. - verb To
treat with quicksilver.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective liable to sudden unpredictable change
- noun a heavy silvery toxic univalent and bivalent metallic element; the only metal that is liquid at ordinary temperatures
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word quicksilver.
Examples
-
The gore here is clinical but the plot flows like quicksilver from the splash page to the climax, with interesting characters and situations combined with well-conceived visuals, that last always a Zenescope trademark.
24 « March « 2010 « Axiom's Edge Science Fiction and Fantasy 2010
-
The gore here is clinical but the plot flows like quicksilver from the splash page to the climax, with interesting characters and situations combined with well-conceived visuals, that last always a Zenescope trademark.
March « 2010 « Axiom's Edge Science Fiction and Fantasy 2010
-
The gore here is clinical but the plot flows like quicksilver from the splash page to the climax, with interesting characters and situations combined with well-conceived visuals, that last always a Zenescope trademark.
-
Mercury is also known by the popular name of quicksilver, derived from the Greek words, hydros meaning water, and argyros meaning silver, because this silvery mineral occurs at room temperature as a liquid.
Mercury (element) 2009
-
Hebrew root, "pant" or "snort," referring to the sound of the bellows blown hard. lead -- employed to separate the baser metal from the silver, as quicksilver is now used.
-
The lead, which was then used in refining silver, as quicksilver is now, is consumed of the fire, and has not done its work.
Commentary on the Whole Bible Volume IV (Isaiah to Malachi) 1721
-
i was a hardcore windows fan until 4 years ago, finally since XP was getting so old and I wanted a new computer i decided to try it out. it took a bit. but life changed. quicksilver is your keyboard answer to anything drag and drop. mac osx is your answer to anything windows.
-
Our ability to foresee and avert techno-terrorism or bio slip-ups may be more like Skating on Stilts over ball bearings in quicksilver.
-
Mercury is a neurotoxic element that was once known as quicksilver and ranks next to gold at No. 80 on the periodic table.
Peter Christian Hall: Thimerosol in Flu Vaccines? America's Mercury Habit is Nothing New 2009
-
But this is best seen in quicksilver, which is not inaptly called mineral water.
The New Organon 2005
Comments
Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.