Lexic.us

Definition of Mercury

1. Noun. A heavy silvery toxic univalent and bivalent metallic element; the only metal that is liquid at ordinary temperatures.

2. Noun. (Roman mythology) messenger of Jupiter and god of commerce; counterpart of Greek Hermes.

3. Noun. The smallest planet and the nearest to the sun.

4. Noun. Temperature measured by a mercury thermometer. "The mercury was falling rapidly"

Definition of Mercury

1. n. A Latin god of commerce and gain; -- treated by the poets as identical with the Greek Hermes, messenger of the gods, conductor of souls to the lower world, and god of eloquence.

2. v. t. To wash with a preparation of mercury.

Definition of Mercury

1. Proper noun. (Roman god) The Roman god associated with speed, sometimes used as a messenger. He wore winged sandals. Mercury corresponded to the Greek god Hermes. ¹

2. Proper noun. (astronomy) The planet in the solar system with the closest orbit to the Sun, named after the god; represented by ?. ¹

3. Noun. A metal. ¹

4. Noun. A plant. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Mercury

1. a metallic element [n -RIES] : MERCURIC [adj]

Medical Definition of Mercury

1. 1. The first planet in order from the sun. It has no known natural satellites. It is one of the four inner or terrestrial planets of the solar system. It is the planet nearest the sun, from which its mean distance is about 36,000,000 miles. Its period is 88 days, and its diameter 3,000 miles. 2. A metallic element mostly obtained by reduction from cinnabar, one of its ores. It is a heavy, opaque, glistening liquid (commonly called quicksilver), and is used in barometers, thermometers, ect. Specific gravity 13.6. Symbol Hg (Hydrargyrum). Atomic weight 199.8. Mercury has a molecule which consists of only one atom. It was named by the alchemists after the god Mercury, and designated by his symbol, A plant (Mercurialis annua), of the Spurge family, the leaves of which are sometimes used for spinach, in Europe. The name is also applied, in the United States, to certain climbing plants, some of which are poisonous to the skin, especially. To the Rhus Toxicodendron, or poison ivy. Origin: L. Mercurius; akin to merx wares. Source: Websters Dictionary (25 Jun 1999)

Mercury Pictures

Click the following link to bring up a new window with an automated collection of images related to the term: Mercury Images

Lexicographical Neighbors of Mercury

mercurify mercurifying mercuriocyclization mercuriocyclizations mercurism mercurisms mercuroan mercurochrome mercurocuprate mercurocuprates

mercurophen mercurophylline sodium mercurous mercurous chloride mercurous iodide mercury (current term) mercury-vapor lamp mercury-vapour lamp mercury arc mercury barometer

mercury bichloride mercury biniodide mercury cell mercury chloride mercury compounds mercury deutoiodide mercury fulminate mercury isotopes

Literary usage of Mercury

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. Standard methods of chemical analysis: A Manual of Analytical Methods and by Wilfred Welday Scott (1917)
"If mercury is to be determined by the dry procedure, the finely ground sample ... mercury will now be in solution and may be determined by precipitation as ..."

2. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London by Royal Society (Great Britain) (1867)
"Three different specimens of pure mercury were used and were separately weighed in ... mercury from the cistern of the old Kew 1 grs. standard barometer, ..."

3. The Principles and Practice of Surveying by Charles Blaney Breed, George Leonard Hosmer (1908)
"The mercury barometer (Fig. 43) consists of a glass tube G, a little over 30 inches long, which contains a column of mercury. The lower end of the tube is ..."

4. Journal of the American Medical Association by American Medical Association (1890)
"Caspary says "the use of mercury is not a matter of indifference;" advises its use during ... Unna is opposed to the protracted use of mercury in syphilis, ..."

5. A General Collection of the Best and Most Interesting Voyages and Travels in by John Pinkerton (1809)
"What was remarkable in this experiment, the mercury in the thermometer was ... Now, here is a proof that mercury may be cooled three and a half degrees ..."

6. Niosh Recommendations for Occupational Safety & Health: Compendium of Policy by DIANE Publishing Company (1992)
"... hydroxyethoxy)propyl)hydroxy-, monosodium salt mercury, ... disodium salt mercury(I) chloride mercury(II) chloride mercury, ..."

7. Science Abstracts by Institution of Electrical Engineers (1900)
"Each shelf is thus constantly covered with a layer of mercury ¡J inch deep, ... Between these mercury shelves the vertical carbon anode is placed. ..."

Other Resources Relating to: Mercury