Quicksilver Meaning
/ˈkwɪkˌsɪlvɚ/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounThe metal mercury.
nounAn amalgam of mercury and tin applied to the backs of mirrors; quicksilvering.
Sentence Examples
Quicksilver, always liquid, corrodes metals.
Mercury is also known as quicksilver.
The alchemist tried unsuccessfully to convert quicksilver into gold.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The liquid metal known as ____ was commonly used in old thermometers.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
His ____ mind moved from one idea to the next so rapidly that it was hard to keep up.
Word Origin & History
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.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"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."
— 1978 August 19, Kevin Warren, “A Flawless Production”, in Gay Community News, volume 6, number 5, page 15:
"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."
— 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):
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The liquid metal known as ____ was commonly used in old thermometers.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
His ____ mind moved from one idea to the next so rapidly that it was hard to keep up.