Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A lustrous white, ductile, malleable metallic element, occurring both uncombined and in ores such as argentite, having the highest thermal and electrical conductivity of the metals. It is highly valued for jewelry, tableware, and other ornamental use and is widely used in coinage, photography, dental and soldering alloys, electrical contacts, and printed circuits. Atomic number 47; atomic weight 107.868; melting point 961.78°C; boiling point 2,162°C; specific gravity 10.50 (20°C); valence 1, 2. cross-reference: Periodic Table.
  • noun This metallic element as a commodity or medium of exchange.
  • noun Coins made of this metallic element.
  • noun A medal made of silver awarded to one placing second in a competition, as in the Olympics.
  • noun Domestic articles, such as tableware, made of or plated with silver.
  • noun Tableware, especially eating and serving utensils, made of steel or another metal.
  • noun A lustrous medium gray.
  • noun A silver salt, especially silver nitrate, used to sensitize paper.
  • adjective Made of or containing silver.
  • adjective Resembling silver, especially in having a lustrous shine; silvery.
  • adjective Of a lustrous medium gray.
  • adjective Having a soft, clear, resonant sound.
  • adjective Eloquent; persuasive.
  • adjective Favoring the adoption of silver as a standard of currency.
  • adjective Of or constituting a 25th anniversary.
  • intransitive verb To cover, plate, or adorn with silver or a similar lustrous substance.
  • intransitive verb To give a silver color to.
  • intransitive verb To coat (photographic paper) with a film of silver nitrate or other silver salt.
  • intransitive verb To become silvery.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To cover the surface of with a coat of silver; silver-plate: as, to silver a dial-plate.
  • To cover with anything resembling silver in color and luster; specifically, to coat with tin-foil and quieksilver, as a looking-glass.
  • To adorn with mild or silver-likeluster; give a silvery sheen to.
  • To make hoary; tinge with gray.
  • To assume the appearance of silver in color; become of a silvery whiteness.
  • noun Silver hydrazoate (AgN3), prepared by precipitating a solution of silver nitrate by one of sodium hydrazoate.
  • noun Chemical symbol, Ag; atomic weight, 107.9. A metal of a white color, having a specific gravity of 10.4 to 10.7 (according as it is cast, rolled, or hammered), harder than gold, and softer than copper, having a tenacity about equal to that of gold, and melting at a temperature a little lower than copper.
  • noun Silver coin; hence, money in general.
  • noun Silverware; tableware of silver; plate; a silver vessel or utensil.
  • noun In photography, a salt of silver, as thenitrate, bromide, or chlorid, which three salts are of fundamental importance as photographic sensitizing agents.
  • noun Something resembling silver; something having a luster like silver.
  • noun In old English law, a paym ent made to the king for liberty to abandon or compromise the judicial proceeding for the conveyance of property called a fine. Also called postfine. See fine, 3, and compare primer fine (under primer).
  • Made of silver; silvern: as, a silver cup; silver coin or money.
  • Pertaining or relating to silver; concerned with silver; producing silver: as, silver legislation; a (Congressional) silver bill; the silver men; the silver States.
  • Resembling silver; having some of the characteristics of silver; silvery
  • Having a pale luster or a soft splendor
  • Bright; lustrous; shining; glittering.
  • Having a soft and clear tone, like that fancifully or poetically attributed to a silver bell, or a bar of silver when struck.
  • Soft; gentle; quiet; peaceful.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Of or pertaining to silver; made of silver
  • adjective Resembling silver.
  • adjective Bright; resplendent; white.
  • adjective Precious; costly.
  • adjective Giving a clear, ringing sound soft and clear.
  • adjective Sweet; gentle; peaceful.
  • adjective (Bot.) the balsam fir. See under Balsam.
  • adjective (Roman Lit.) the latter part (a. d. 14-180) of the classical period of Latinity, -- the time of writers of inferior purity of language, as compared with those of the previous golden age, so-called.
  • adjective (Bot.) an American shrub or small tree (Halesia tetraptera) with white bell-shaped flowers in clusters or racemes; the snowdrop tree.
  • adjective (Bot.) a shrubby leguminous plant (Anthyllis Barba-Jovis) of Southern Europe, having silvery foliage.
  • adjective (Zoöl.) the fallfish.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, from Old English siolfor, seolfor, probably ultimately from Akkadian ṣarpu, refined silver, verbal adj. of ṣarāpu, to smelt, refine; see ṣrp in Semitic roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English silver, selver, sulver, from Old English seolfor, seolofor ("silver"), from Proto-Germanic *silubran (“silver”), from Proto-Indo-European *silubʰr-, *silebʰr- (“silver”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Selwer ("silver"), West Frisian sulver ("silver"), Dutch zilver ("silver"), Low German Silver, Sülver ("silver"), German Silber ("silver"), Swedish silver ("silver"), Icelandic silfur ("silver"). The Germanic word has parallels in Baltic and Slavic (OCS sirebo, Lithuanian sidabras), Celtic (Celtiberian silaPur-), and outside Indo-European, in Basque (zilar, zilhar and further dialectal variants) and perhaps Berber (Tashelhit aẓrf), but the ultimate origin of the word is unknown. A Wanderwort of ultimately Semitic origin has been suggested (Akkadian sarpu "refined silver", from the verb sarapu "to refine").

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Examples

  • "Roll on, silver moon," at which I suggested to the party there should be a big premium, just now, on "_silver_ moons."

    Incidents of the War: Humorous, Pathetic, and Descriptive Alf Burnett

  • To help remember that the order of the bells is silver, gold, brass and iron, the old Mnemonics advises us to invent a story -- the following will answer: A couple of lovers once took a sleigh-ride, the horses carrying _silver_ bells.

    Assimilative Memory or, How to Attend and Never Forget

  • _ I say -- "silver sound" because musicians _sound for silver_.

    Shakespeare and Music With Illustrations from the Music of the 16th and 17th centuries 1900

  • Why "silver sound"? why "music with her _silver_ sound"? what say you, Simon _Catling_?

    Shakespeare and Music With Illustrations from the Music of the 16th and 17th centuries 1900

  • There was a sudden change in the sound, and the water said clearly and rapidly, "_Silver silver silver silver_."

    The Five Jars 1899

  • In connection with this modification of language, I observe in a daily paper how much a worthy old lady puzzled her minister, for a moment, by inquiring the meaning of "silver shiners for Diana," in the Bible; but a good deacon, at an evening meeting in the chapel of their house of worship, in our town, sadly disturbed the gravity of the religious assembly, by reading it _silver shins for Dinah_!

    Old New England Traits George Lunt 1844

  • A hundred and fifty silver dollars -- _silver_, mind you -- all SILVER! "

    The Land of Thor 1848

  • The true silver grey rabbits -- _silver sprigs_, they call them -- do you know that the skins of those _silver sprigs_ are worth any money? "

    Tales and Novels — Volume 02 Maria Edgeworth 1808

  • Adjusted net earnings primarily exclude the gains from the foreign exchange translation of future income tax liabilities, the three mark to market gains relating to the exercise of the share purchase warrants, a term silver sales contract and the conversion feature of convertible senior notes but include the impact of non-cash stock option expenses which amounted to approximately $31 million or $0.04 per share for the quarter.

    unknown title 2011

  • But let's say that silver is not available in small bars anymore - wouldn't you think that this would drive up alternative investment vehicles like the SLV which acquires 1000oz bars of silver from the mkt?

    Canadian Silver Bug- Predictions for 2008 pt2 Canadian silver bug/Green Assassin Brigade 2007

Comments

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  • I like silver jewlry.

    February 15, 2007

  • Silver is kindof like gold.

    February 15, 2007

  • Silver is a cind of meatal.

    February 15, 2007

  • Silver rhymes with no other word.

    May 31, 2007

  • except maybe Denver.

    September 25, 2007

  • Denver? Ehhhh... that's not a rhyme. ;-)

    September 25, 2007

  • alrighty then, what about chilver? ;)

    September 25, 2007

  • Um. Okay. I think the only (real) word that rhymes with silver is quicksilver, and even that's cheating. :-P

    September 25, 2007

  • For You, O God, have tested us; You have refined us as silver is refined.

    Psalm 66:10

    October 25, 2007

  • Ag.

    December 16, 2007

  • rhymes with pilfer (imperfectly)

    January 24, 2008

  • Lone Ranger. See A Horse is a Horse

    February 1, 2008