GC: n
S: WHO – https://bit.ly/2QfzkhL (last access: 1 June 2019); NCBI – https://bit.ly/2QCtfJ7 (last access: 1 June 2019).
N: 1. silver-white fluid metallic element, late 14c., from Medieval Latin mercurius, from Latin Mercurius (Mercury, the Roman god). Prepared in ancient times from cinnabar, it was one of the seven metals (bodies terrestrial) known to the ancients, which were coupled in astrology and alchemy with the seven known heavenly bodies. This one probably was associated with the planet for its mobility. The others were Sun/gold, Moon/silver, Mars/iron, Saturn/lead, Jupiter/tin, Venus/copper.
The Greek name for it was hydrargyros “liquid silver,” which gives the element its symbol, Hg. Compare quicksilver, which is its popular name. It has a freezing point of -39° C. The use of the word in reference to temperature or state of the atmosphere (by 1756) is from its use in thermometers and barometers.
2. Mercury (Hg), also called quicksilver, chemical element, liquid metal of Group 12 (IIb, or zinc group) of the periodic table.
3. Mercury was known in Egypt and also probably in the East as early as 1500 BCE. The name mercury originated in 6th-century alchemy, in which the symbol of the planet was used to represent the metal; the chemical symbol Hg derives from the Latin hydrargyrum, “liquid silver.” Although its toxicity was recognized at an early date, its main application was for medical purposes.
4. Also known under the following commercial designations: NA 2809; NCI-C60399; RCRA waste number U151; UN 2980.
5. Phraseology: Colloidal, metallic mercury.
S: 1. OED – https://bit.ly/2WB2c6u (last access: 1 June 2019). 2 & 3. EncBrit – https://bit.ly/2isYogz (last access: 1 June 2019). 3 & 4. TERMIUM PLUS – https://bit.ly/2JS1vj4 (last access: 1 June 2019).
SYN: hydrargyrum (obsolete), quicksilver. (depending on context)
S: GDT – https://bit.ly/2QCl0Nc (last access: 1 June 2019); TERMIUM PLUS – https://bit.ly/2JS1vj4 (last access: 1 June 2019).
