mercury

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In a flash I knew that if I added malic acid to the mercury -- perchloride of mercury or corrosive sublimate -- I would have calomel or subchloride of mercury, the only thing that would switch the poison out of my system and Mrs. Boncour's.

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Definitions (10)

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  1. noun A silvery-white poisonous metallic element, liquid at room temperature and used in thermometers, barometers, vapor lamps, and batteries and in the preparation of chemical pesticides. Atomic number 80; atomic weight 200.59; melting point -38.87°C; boiling point 356.58°C; specific gravity 13.546 (at 20°C); valence 1, 2. Also called quicksilver. See Table at element.
  2. noun Temperature: The mercury had fallen rapidly by morning.
  3. noun Any of several weedy plants of the genera Mercurialis or Acalypha.

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Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Middle English mercurie, from Medieval Latin mercurius, from Latin Mercurius, Mercury.

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  1. from mercury, n.
 

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