See Also: Mercury(encyclopedia)
Mercury(medicine)
mercury(dictionary)
mercury arc(medicine)
The Mercury(finance)
mercury(dictionary)
mercury subsalicylate(medicine)
Mercury program, the(dictionary)
Mercury General(finance)
mercury poisoning(encyclopedia)

mercury (iou)



mercury noun. In branches I, IV usu. Mercury. ME.
[Latin Mercurius (from merc-, merx merchandise), a Roman god, identified from an early period with the Greek Hermes, the god of eloquence and dexterity, protector of traders and thieves, presider over roads, messenger of the gods, etc.]
I.
The planet which is the nearest of the major planets to the sun. ME.
Heraldry. The tincture purpure in the fanciful blazon of arms of sovereign houses. obsolete exc. Hist. M16.
II.
A heavy silvery-white metallic chemical element, atomic no. 80, which is liquid at room temperature, dissolves other metals to form amalgams, and is used in thermometers and barometers (symbol Hg). Also called quicksilver. LME.
b. The column of mercury in a barometer or thermometer; atmospheric pressure or temperature indicated by this, esp. as rising or falling. E18.
MILLIMETRE of mercury.
c. The metal or one of its compounds prepared for medicinal use. L18.
Alchemy. One of the elementary principles of which all substances were supposed to be compounded. L15.
fig. Spirit, liveliness; volatility of temperament, inconstancy; wittiness. M17-L18.
III.
a. The pot-herb Good King Henry. LME.
b. Either of two plants of the spurge family, with inconspicuous greenish flowers and opposite toothed leaves, Mercurialis perennis (in full dog's mercury), a perennial woodland plant, and Mercurialis annua (in full annual mercury), a garden weed. M16.
IV.
A statue or image of the god Mercury, usu. represented as a young man with winged sandals and hat, bearing a caduceus. Formerly spec., = HERM. L16.
a. A messenger, a bringer of news. Also, a go-between. L16.
b. A guide or conductor on the road. Now rare or obsolete. L16.
c. A nimble person; a dexterous thief. L16-E17.
d. A hawker of pamphlets etc. M17-E18.
A newspaper. Freq. (now only) in titles. M17.
Comb.: mercury arc (a) an electric discharge through mercury vapour; (b) = mercury vapour lamp below; mercury gilding: using an amalgam of gold and mercury from which the mercury is driven off by heat; mercury lamp = mercury vapour lamp below; mercury pool a mass of liquid mercury, esp. used as an electrode; mercury sublimate: see SUBLIMATE noun 1; mercury tilt switch an electric switch in which the circuit is made by mercury flowing into a gap when the device tilts; mercury vapour a vapour of mercury atoms or ions above liquid mercury or at low pressure; mercury vapour lamp, a lamp in which bluish light (rich in ultraviolet) is produced by a mercury arc, the envelope often being coated with a phosphor to produce more visible light (cf. FLUORESCENT lamp); mercury vapour pump, a pump for producing high vacuums by entraining molecules of the gas to be evacuated in a jet of mercury vapour.