Mercury

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See also: mercury

English

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The planet Mercury
Mercury's planetary symbol

Etymology

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Inherited from Middle English Mercurie, from Latin Mercurius.

Pronunciation

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  • (UK) IPA(key): /ˈmɜː(ɹ)kjʊɹi/
  • (US) IPA(key): /ˈmɝkjəɹi/, /ˈmɝk(ə)ɹi/
  • Audio (US):(file)

Proper noun

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Mercury

  1. (astronomy) The first planet in the Solar system with the closest orbit to the Sun, named after the god; represented by .
  2. (Roman mythology) The Roman god associated with speed, sometimes used as a messenger, wearing winged sandals; the Roman counterpart of the Greek god Hermes.

Synonyms

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  • (astronomy, astrology):

Derived terms

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Translations

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See also

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Solar System in English · Solar System (layout · text)
Star Sun
IAU planets and
notable dwarf planets
Mercury Venus Earth Mars Ceres Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Pluto Eris
Notable
moons
Moon Phobos
Deimos
Io
Europa
Ganymede
Callisto
Mimas
Enceladus
Tethys
Dione
Rhea
Titan
Iapetus

Miranda
Ariel
Umbriel
Titania
Oberon
Triton Charon Dysnomia

Noun

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Mercury (plural Mercuries)

  1. (obsolete, alchemy, chemistry) Quicksilver, mercury. (No longer capitalized, as the name of the metal is no longer recognized as that of the planet.)
  2. (archaic) A carrier of tidings.
    1. A newsboy, a messenger. [16th–19th c.]
    2. A footman.
    3. Someone who carries messages between lovers; a go-between. [from 17th c.]
      • 1751, [Tobias] Smollett, The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle [], volumes (please specify |volume=I to IV), London: Harrison and Co., [], →OCLC:
        His Mercury having made his observations, reported, that there was no body in the coach but Mrs. Hornbeck and an elderly woman, who had all the air of a duenna, and that the servant was not the same footman who had attended them in France.
    4. A newspaper. [from 17th c.]

Further reading

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Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
(See the entry for Mercury”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.)

Middle English

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Proper noun

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Mercury

  1. Alternative form of Mercurie