Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. See mercury.
- adj. Unpredictable; mercurial: "a quicksilver character, cool and willful at one moment, utterly fragile the next” ( Sven Birkerts).
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. The common popular designation of the metal mercury. See mercury, 6, and mercurial.
- To overlay with quicksilver; treat with quicksilver: chiefly used in the past and present participles.
- n. A term popularly applied to the amalgam of mercury and tin on the back of a common mirror.
Wiktionary
- n. The metal mercury.
- n. colloquial An amalgam of mercury and tin applied to the backs of mirrors, quicksilvering.
- adj. Unpredictable, erratic or fickle; mercurial.
- v. To overlay with quicksilver.
- v. To treat with quicksilver.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. (Chem.) The metal mercury; -- so called from its resemblance to liquid silver.
WordNet 3.0
- adj. liable to sudden unpredictable change
- n. a heavy silvery toxic univalent and bivalent metallic element; the only metal that is liquid at ordinary temperatures
Etymologies
- From Middle English quyksilver, from Old English cwicseolfor. Literally "living silver" from its ability to move. See quick in the sense of living. (Wiktionary)
- Middle English, from Old English cwicseolfor, living silver (translation of Latin argentum vīvum) : cwic, cwicu, alive; see gwei- in Indo-European roots + seolfor, silver; see silver. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
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
“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.”
“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.”
“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
“But this is best seen in quicksilver, which is not inaptly called mineral water.”
“Of this viscous water and fusible earth, or sulphur, is composed that which is called quicksilver, the first matter of the metals.”
“During the digging it sheds, under the blows of the tools, tear after tear of quicksilver, which is at once gathered up by the diggers.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘quicksilver’.
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GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4087 more...
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Q words
Ever get stuck with the random bunch of letters and a q and not know any words? Well, maybe this will help.
quire, quais, quai, queer, quoit, quitrent, quipster, question, quest, questing, quests, quit and 208 more...
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Silver
Silvery words. (Mithril doesn't count.)
lessilver, silver, ladysilver, loadsilver, silvery, silversmith, silverwork, silverware, ale-silver, quicksilver, aver-silver, besilver and 242 more...
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Words that are also movies
Unabashedly stolen from a comment made by courier12.
vertigo, serendipity, casablanca, psycho, jaws, fantasia, stagecoach, network, rocky, giant, platoon, unforgiven and 285 more...
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phrontistery - q
from phrontistery.info
qanat, qasida, qat, qigong, qintar, qiviut, qoph, qua, quab, quackle, quacksalver, quad and 227 more...
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Genes
Interesting gene names. Some of these may have changed recently (to something less offensive/funny).
http://www.genenames.org/
tinman, agnostic, dreadlocks, Van Gogh, fruitless, lava lamp, ariadne, cheap date, ken and barbie, I'm not dead yet, I'm not dead yet 2, manic fringe and 1192 more... -
Steampunk
Words used quite often in steampunk
ansible, airship, chymical, valve, clockwork, dirigible, thaumaturgy, copper, bronze, difference engine, gear, rivets and 516 more...
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the indelible ink of personality
nefarious, mischievious, bawdy, intense, blunt, steadfast, succulent, edible, nature, creature, truth, touch and 28 more...
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♥
ambrosia, inamorata, gossamer, lily-white, hummingbird, roucoulement, poppy, daisy, calypso, lunula, lamb, dove and 1526 more...
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Serendipity's Words
defenestration, mercurial, syzygy, wicked, iniquitous, metastable, demimonde, entropic, ephemeral, irreligious, frisbee, manifold and 474 more...
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Amalgamations
Words that have been smashed together.
keystone, touchstone, footprint, thunderhead, seesaw, textbook, leftovers, watchword, afterbirth, fieldwork, outcast, statesman and 148 more...
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Lively Words
quick, quicksilver, cwic, quitch grass, cwice, vivify, viviparous, viper, weever, wyvern, viand, victual and 148 more...
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Words I like
This is a list of my favourite words (phrases) in english, as a second language. I love them mostly because of how they sound and their meaning.
ninja, cookie, skill, zip, plentiful, digg, debris, pancake, cucumber, fetch, pot, backpack and 461 more...
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Chainlink's Words
hat, opalescent, opal, emerald, sapphire, scythe, carnival, calliope, brilliant, awesome, feather, fantastic and 268 more...
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alchemicality
alchemical, alchemy, alchemist, hermetic, hermeticism, philosopher's stone, splendor solis, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, carbon, sulphur and 258 more...
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NeoVolt's Words
schadenfreude, serendipity, idiosyncrasy, loess, caducous, vagary, schematic, steeple, licentious, tangential, verisimilitude, vernacular and 385 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for quicksilver.
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