quicksilver

English

Etymology

From Middle English quyk silver, quyksilver, quikselver, from Old English cwicseolfor (“quicksilver”, literally “living silver”) (see Latin argentum vivum) from its ability to move. See quick in the sense of "living". Equivalent to quick +‎ silver. Cognate with Dutch kwikzilver, German Low German Quicksülver, German Quecksilber, Danish kviksølv, Norwegian Bokmål kvikksølv, Swedish kvicksilver.

Pronunciation

• enPR: kwĭk'sĭlvər, IPA^(key): /ˈkwɪkˌsɪlvɚ/

Noun

quicksilver (uncountable)

1. The metal mercury.
2. (colloquial) An amalgam of mercury and tin applied to the backs of mirrors, quicksilvering.

Quotations

• For quotations using this term, see Citations:quicksilver.

Synonyms

• (the metal mercury): mercury, hydrargyrum

Derived terms

terms derived from quicksilver

• quicksilvered
• quicksilver horizon
• quicksilvering
• quicksilverish

• quicksilver plaster
• quicksilver soap
• quicksilver water
• quicksilvery

Translations

mercury

• Bashkir: терегөмөш (teregömöş)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 水銀／水银 (zh) (shuǐyín), 水银 (zh) (shuǐyín)

• Danish: kviksølv (da) n
• Dutch: kwikzilver (nl) n
• Estonian: elavhõbe (et)
• Faroese: kyksilvur n
• Finnish: elohopea (fi)
• French: vif-argent (fr) m
• Galician: mercurio (gl) m, azougue (gl) m
• Georgian: ვერცხლისწყალი (vercxlisc̣q̇ali), ვერცხლისწყალი (vercxlisc̣q̇ali)
• German: Quecksilber (de) n
• Greek: υδράργυρος (el) m (ydrárgyros)

  Ancient: ὑδράργυρος f (hudrárguros)

• Hebrew: כספית (he) f
• Irish: airgead beo m
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Kannada: ಪಾರಜ (kn) (pāraja), ಪಾದರಸ (kn) (pādarasa)
• Korean: 수은 (ko) (sueun) (水銀 (ko))
• Latin: argentum vivum n
• Low German: Quecksülver (nds) n
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: kvikksølv n

  Nynorsk: kvikksølv (nn) n, kvikksylv (nn) n

• Persian: سیماب (fa) (sīmāb), جیوه (fa) (ǰīwe), ژیوه (fa) (žīwe)
• Polish: rtęć (pl) f
• Portuguese: mercúrio (pt) m
• Romanian: mercur (ro) n, argint viu n, hidrargir (ro)
• Russian: ртуть (ru) f (rtutʹ)
• Spanish: mercurio (es) m, azogue (es) m
• Swedish: kvicksilver (sv) n
• Vietnamese: thuỷ ngân (vi), thủy ngân (vi)
• Volapük: hidrargin (vo), (synonym) märkurin (vo)

amalgam used on mirrors

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Latin: ^{(please verify)} argentum vivum, ^{(please verify)} argentum liquidum
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

Adjective

quicksilver (not comparable)

1. Unpredictable, erratic or fickle; mercurial.
   • 2012 April 29, Nathan Rabin, “TV: Review: THE SIMPSONS (CLASSIC): “Treehouse of Horror III” (season 4, episode 5; originally aired 10/29/1992)”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name)‎^[1]:

     The idea of a merchant selling both totems of pure evil and frozen yogurt (he calls it frogurt!) is amusing in itself, as is the idea that frogurt could be cursed, but it’s really the Shopkeeper’s quicksilver shift from ominous doomsaying to chipper salesmanship that sells the sequence.

Translations

unpredictable, erratic

• German: quecksilbrig
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

Verb

quicksilver (third-person singular simple present quicksilvers, present participle quicksilvering, simple past and past participle quicksilvered)

1. To overlay with quicksilver.
2. To treat with quicksilver.

Further reading

• David Barthelmy (1997–2024) “Quicksilver”, in Webmineral Mineralogy Database.
• “quicksilver”, in Mindat.org‎^[2], Hudson Institute of Mineralogy, 2000–2024.
• “quicksilver”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• William Dwight Whitney and Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1914), “quicksilver”, in The Century Dictionary: An Encyclopedic Lexicon of the English Language, revised edition, volumes IV (P–Simulant), New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.