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MER'CURY, n. [L. Mercurius. In mythology, Mercury is the god of eloquence and of commerce, called by the Greeks Hermes, and his name is said to be formed from merces, or mercor. But in antiquity, there were several persons or deities of this name.] 1. Quicksilver, a metal remarkable for its fusibility, which is so great that to fix or congeal it requires a degree of cold which is marked on Fahrenheit's scale at thirty nine degrees below zero. Its specific gravity is greater than that of any other metal, except platina, gold and tungsten. Under a heat of 660 degrees, it rises in fumes and is gradually converted into a red oxyd. Mercury is used in barometers to ascertain the weight of the atmosphere, and in thermometers to determine the temperature of the air, for which purposes it is well adapted by its expansibility, and the extensive range between its freezing and boiling points. Preparations of this metal are among the most powerful poisons, and are extensively used as medicines. The preparation called calomel, is a most efficacious deobstruent.2. Heat of constitutional temperament; spirit; sprightly qualities.3. A genus of plants,the Mercurialis, of several species.4. One of the planets nearest the sun. It is 3224 miles in diameter, and revolves round the sun in about 88 days. Its mean distance from the sun is thirty seven millions of miles.5. The name of a newspaper or periodical publication, and in some places,the carrier of a newspaper or pamphlet.MER'CURY, v.t. To wash with a preparation of mercury.
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Evolution (or devolution) of this word [mercury]
1828 Webster | 1844 Webster | 1913 Webster |
MER'CURY, n. [L. Mercurius. In mythology, Mercury is the god of eloquence and of commerce, called by the Greeks Hermes, and his name is said to be formed from merces, or mercor. But in antiquity, there were several persons or deities of this name.] 1. Quicksilver, a metal remarkable for its fusibility, which is so great that to fix or congeal it requires a degree of cold which is marked on Fahrenheit's scale at thirty nine degrees below zero. Its specific gravity is greater than that of any other metal, except platina, gold and tungsten. Under a heat of 660 degrees, it rises in fumes and is gradually converted into a red oxyd. Mercury is used in barometers to ascertain the weight of the atmosphere, and in thermometers to determine the temperature of the air, for which purposes it is well adapted by its expansibility, and the extensive range between its freezing and boiling points. Preparations of this metal are among the most powerful poisons, and are extensively used as medicines. The preparation called calomel, is a most efficacious deobstruent.2. Heat of constitutional temperament; spirit; sprightly qualities.3. A genus of plants,the Mercurialis, of several species.4. One of the planets nearest the sun. It is 3224 miles in diameter, and revolves round the sun in about 88 days. Its mean distance from the sun is thirty seven millions of miles.5. The name of a newspaper or periodical publication, and in some places,the carrier of a newspaper or pamphlet.MER'CURY, v.t. To wash with a preparation of mercury. | MER'CU-RY, n. [L. Mercurius. In mythology, Mercury is the god of eloquence and of commerce, called by the Greeks Hermes, and his name is said to be formed from merces, or mercor. But in antiquity, there were several persons or deities of this name.]- Quicksilver, a metal remarkable for its fusibility, which is so great that to fix or congeal it, requires a degree of cold which is marked on Fahrenheit's scale at thirty-nine degrees below zero. Its specific gravity is greater than that of any other metal, except platinum, gold and tungsten. Under a heat of 660 degrees, it rises in fumes and is gradually converted into a red oxyd. Mercury is used in barometers to ascertain the weight of the atmosphere, and in thermometers to determine the temperature of the air, for which purposes it is well adapted by its expansibility, and the extensive range between its freezing and boiling points. Preparations of this metal are among the most powerful poisons, and are extensively used as medicines. The preparation called calomel, is a most efficacious deobstruent.
- Heat of constitutional temperament; spirit; sprightly qualities. Pope.
- A genus of plants, the Mercurialis, of several species.
- One of the planets nearest the sun. It is 3224 miles in diameter, and revolves round the sun in about 88 days. Its mean distance from the sun is thirty-seven millions of miles.
- The name of a newspaper or periodical publication, and in some places, the carrier of a newspaper or pamphlet.
MER'CU-RY, v.t.To wash with a preparation of mercury. B. Jonson. | Mer"cu*ry
- A Latin god of commerce and gain; -- treated by the poets as
identical with the Greek Hermes, messenger of the gods, conductor of
souls to the lower world, and god of eloquence.
- To wash with a
preparation of mercury.
- A metallic element mostly
obtained by reduction from cinnabar, one of its ores. It is a heavy,
opaque, glistening liquid (commonly called quicksilver), and
is used in barometers, thermometers, etc. Specific gravity 13.6.
Symbol Hg (Hydrargyrum). Atomic weight 199.8. Mercury has a
molecule which consists of only one atom. It was named by the
alchemists after the god Mercury, and designated by his symbol,
***mercury].
- One of the planets of the
solar system, being the one nearest the sun, from which its mean
distance is about 36,000,000 miles. Its period is 88 days, and its
diameter 3,000 miles.
- A carrier of tidings; a newsboy; a
messenger; hence, also, a newspaper.
- Sprightly or mercurial quality; spirit;
mutability; fickleness.
- A plant (Mercurialis
annua), of the Spurge family, the leaves of which are sometimes
used for spinach, in Europe.
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Mercury MER'CURY, noun [Latin Mercurius. In mythology, mercury is the god of eloquence and of commerce, called by the Greeks Hermes, and his name is said to be formed from merces, or mercor. But in antiquity, there were several persons or deities of this name.] 1. Quicksilver, a metal remarkable for its fusibility, which is so great that to fix or congeal it requires a degree of cold which is marked on Fahrenheit's scale at thirty nine degrees below zero. Its specific gravity is greater than that of any other metal, except platina, gold and tungsten. Under a heat of 660 degrees, it rises in fumes and is gradually converted into a red oxyd. mercury is used in barometers to ascertain the weight of the atmosphere, and in thermometers to determine the temperature of the air, for which purposes it is well adapted by its expansibility, and the extensive range between its freezing and boiling points. Preparations of this metal are among the most powerful poisons, and are extensively used as medicines. The preparation called calomel, is a most efficacious deobstruent. 2. Heat of constitutional temperament; spirit; sprightly qualities. 3. A genus of plants, the Mercurialis, of several species. 4. One of the planets nearest the sun. It is 3224 miles in diameter, and revolves round the sun in about 88 days. Its mean distance from the sun is thirty seven millions of miles. 5. The name of a newspaper or periodical publication, and in some places, the carrier of a newspaper or pamphlet. MER'CURY, verb transitive To wash with a preparation of mercury
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