quicksilver

CEFRB2

/ˈkwɪkˌsɪlvɚ/

noun · adjective

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    Mercury, a shiny liquid metal.

  2. 02

    adjective

    Changing or moving very quickly.

Examples

  • The alchemist tried unsuccessfully to convert quicksilver into gold.

  • Mercury is also known as quicksilver.

At a glance

Sits at B2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
2
Synonyms
2

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. An amalgam of mercury and tin applied to the backs of mirrors; quicksilvering.

  2. Unpredictable, erratic, or fickle; mercurial.

  3. The metal mercury.

More examples

In context

  • Quicksilver, always liquid, corrodes metals.

  • Summer is not the most auspicious season for theater in New York. Aside from a few certifiable Broadway hits, it is, in fact, a rather quicksilver commodity.

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The liquid metal known as blank was commonly used in old thermometers.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

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