水銀

See also: 水银

Chinese

FWOTD – 31 July 2014

		water; river	silver; money
trad. (水銀)		水	銀
simp. (水银)		水	银
anagram		銀水／银水

Etymology

Compare the etymologies of Latin hydrargyrus, English quicksilver.

Noun

(deprecated template usage) 水銀

1. mercury; quicksilver

   • 始皇初即位，穿治酈山，及并天下，天下徒送詣七十餘萬人，穿三泉，下銅而致槨，宮觀百官奇器珍怪徙臧滿之。令匠作機弩矢，有所穿近者輒射之。以水銀為百川江河大海，機相灌輸，上具天文，下具地理。以人魚膏為燭，度不滅者久之。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     始皇初即位，穿治郦山，及并天下，天下徒送诣七十余万人，穿三泉，下铜而致椁，宫观百官奇器珍怪徙臧满之。令匠作机弩矢，有所穿近者辄射之。以水银为百川江河大海，机相灌输，上具天文，下具地理。以人鱼膏为烛，度不灭者久之。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: The Records of the Grand Historian, by Sima Qian, c. 91 BCE

     Shǐhuáng chū jíwèi, chuān zhì Lìshān, jí bìng tiānxià, tiānxià tú sòngyì qī shí yú wàn rén, chuān sān quán, xià tóng ér zhì guǒ, gōngguān bǎiguān qíqì zhēnguài xǐ zāng mǎn zhī. Lìng jiàng zuò jīnǔ shǐ, yǒu suǒ chuān jìn zhě zhé shè zhī. Yǐ shuǐyín wèi bǎichuān jiānghé dàhǎi, jī xiàng guànshū, shàng jù tiānwén, xià jù dìlǐ. Yǐ rényúgāo wèi zhú, dù bù miè zhě jiǔ zhī. [Pinyin]

     When the First Emperor ascended the throne, the digging and preparation at Mount Li began. After he unified his empire, he sent 700,000 people to work. They dug down deep to underground springs, pouring copper to place the outer casing of the coffin. Palaces and viewing towers housing a hundred officials were built and filled with treasures and rare artefacts. Workmen were instructed to make automatic crossbows primed to shoot at intruders. Mercury was used to create a hundred rivers and the ocean, and set to flow mechanically. Above, the heaven is depicted, below, the geographical features of the land. Candles were made of "mermaid"'s fat whose light would not extinguish for a long time.

2. (poetic) moon
3. (poetic) glob; drop of water

Synonyms

• (mercury): (scientific) 汞 (gǒng)

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (水銀):

• → Japanese: 水銀(すいぎん) (suigin)
• → Korean: 수은(水銀) (sueun)
• → Vietnamese: thuỷ ngân (水銀)

(deprecated template usage)

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Japanese

Chemical element
Hg
Previous: 金(きん) (kin) (金(きん) (kin)) (Au)
Next: タリウム (tariumu) (タリウム (tariumu)) (Tl)

水銀 (suigin, mizugane): mercury.

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
水	銀
すい Grade: 1	ぎん Grade: 3
on'yomi

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Middle Chinese compound 水銀／水银 (sywij^X ngin, literally “water (i.e. liquid) silver”). Compare modern (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Mandarin 水銀／水银 (shuǐyín).

Noun

水(すい)銀(ぎん) • (suigin) 

1. (chemistry) mercury; quicksilver

Derived terms

Derived terms

• 水銀汚染(すいぎんおせん) (suigin osen): mercury pollution, mercury contamination
• 水銀温度計(すいぎんおんどけい) (suigin ondokei): a mercury thermometer
• 水銀気圧計(すいぎんきあつけい) (suigin kiatsukei): a mercury barometer
• 水銀拡散(すいぎんかくせん)ポンプ (suigin kakusen ponpu): a mercury diffusion pump
• 水銀寒暖計(すいぎんかんだんけい) (suigin kandankei): a mercury thermometer
• 水銀孤灯(すいぎんことう) (suigin kotō): a mercury arc lamp
• 水銀硬膏(すいぎんこうこう) (suigin kōkō): a hard mercury-based ointment or plaster
• 水銀剤(すいぎんざい) (suiginzai): a mercurial (drug), a mercury-based fungicide
• 水銀整流器(すいぎんせいりゅうき) (suigin seiryūki): (electronics) a mercury-arc valve
• 水銀晴雨計(すいぎんせいうけい) (suigin seiukei): a mercury barometer
• 水銀中毒(すいぎんちゅうどく) (suigin chūdoku): mercury poisoning
• 水銀柱(すいぎんちゅう) (suiginchū): mercury in a thermometer, as a metaphor for the temperature
• 水銀電池(すいぎんでんち) (suigin denchi): a mercury battery
• 水銀灯(すいぎんとう) (suigin tō): a mercury lamp, a mercury-vapor lamp
• 水銀軟膏(すいぎんなんこう) (suigin nankō): a soft mercury-based ointment or plaster
• 水銀農薬(すいぎんのうやく) (suigin nōyaku): a mercury-based agrichemical
• 水銀粉(はらや) (haraya): a kind of white face powder made from mercury, used in ancient times

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
水	銀
みず Grade: 1	かね > がね Grade: 3
kun'yomi

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Old Japanese. Compound of 水 (mizu, “water”) +‎ 銀 (kane, “metal, silver”). The kane changes to gane as an instance of rendaku (連濁). Appears in the Wamyō Ruijushō Japanese dictionary of 938 CE as mizukane, suggesting that the shift to rendaku is more recent.

Obsolete in modern Japanese.

Pronunciation

Alternative forms

• 汞 (rare)

Noun

水(みず)銀(がね) • (mizugane) ^{←みづがね (midugane)?}

1. (chemistry, obsolete) mercury; quicksilver

Usage notes

The mizugane reading is largely obsolete in modern Japanese; suigin is the standard reading.

Derived terms

Derived terms

• 水銀(みずがね)の滓(かす) (mizugane no kasu): a kind of white face powder made from mercury, used in ancient times

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Korean

Hanja in this term
水	銀

Noun

水銀 • (sueun) (hangeul 수은)

1. Hanja form^? of 수은 (“mercury”).

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Vietnamese

chữ Hán Nôm in this term
水	銀

Noun

水銀

1. chữ Hán form of thủy ngân (“mercury”).