noun
mercury
MUR-kyuh-ree/ˈmɜːrkjəri/
A toxic silvery metal that remains liquid at room temperature.
Silvery mercury rests in a sealed glass vial beside a thermometer.
Etymology
Mercury's name was applied to the liquid metal through the alchemical pairing of metals with heavenly bodies. Its easy movement probably explains why this metal was associated with that planet.
In context
play with mercury when I was a kid. And then obviously you find out that it's incredibly poisonous and gives you heavy metal poisoning
More examples
- Unlike most metals, mercury stays liquid at room temperature.
- Workers handle mercury carefully because its vapor is toxic.
- The mercury climbs past ninety degrees by noon.
Forms
mercury
Similar words
- quicksilver
- An older name for the same liquid metal.