mercury

noun

(literally) A silvery-colored, toxic, metallic chemical element, liquid at room temperature, with atomic number 80 and symbol Hg.

(literally) (with definite article) Ambient pressure or temperature (from the use of mercury in barometers and thermometers).

Any plant of any species of the genus and the genus Mercurialis.

An annual plant, annual mercury (Mercurialis annua), formerly grown for its medicinal properties; French mercury, herb mercury.

A similar edible plant (Blitum bonus-henricus), otherwise known as English mercury or allgood.

Any of several types of plant.

(US, regional) The poison oak or poison ivy.

(literally) (sciences, historical) One of the elemental principles formerly thought to be present in all metals.

(literally) (obsolete) Liveliness, volatility.

(astronomy) The first planet in the Solar system with the closest orbit to the Sun, named after the god; represented by ☿.

(Roman mythology) The Roman god associated with speed, sometimes used as a messenger, wearing winged sandals; the Roman counterpart of the Greek god Hermes.

A newsboy, a messenger.

Someone who carries messages between lovers; a go-between.

A newspaper.

A footman.

(obsolete, alchemy, chemistry) Quicksilver, mercury. (No longer capitalized, as the name of the metal is no longer recognized as that of the planet.)

(archaic) A carrier of tidings.

Roots

mercuriusmercur- · Latin · Mercury (god)

Synonyms for mercury

quicksilveradj

Synonyms & related words for mercury

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of mercury — including quicksilver. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to mercury

Explore words related to mercury — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include hydrargyrum, mercurialism, mercurous, azoth, mercurate, mercuric, mercurialize, methylmercury. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for mercury

Common synonyms for mercury include quicksilver — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.

Where does mercury come from?

The word mercury breaks down into one root of Latin origin: the root mercur-, from Latin mercurius (“Mercury (god)”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.