mercury
noun
- Rom. Myth. the messenger of the gods, god of commerce, manual skill, eloquence, cleverness, travel, and thievery: identified with the Greek Hermes
- the eighth largest planet in the solar system and the one nearest to the sun: diameter, c. 4,880 km (c. 3,030 mi); period of revolution, 87.97 earth days; period of rotation, 58.65 earth days; symbol, ☿
- a heavy, silver-white metallic chemical element, liquid at ordinary temperatures, which sometimes occurs in a free state but usually in combination with sulfur; quicksilver: it is used in thermometers, air pumps, electrical products, etc. and in dentistry: symbol, Hg; at. no., 80
- the mercury column in a thermometer or barometer
- pl. MercuriesNow Rare a messenger or guide
- Bot.
- any of a genus (Mercurialis) of plants of the spurge family
- an edible European plant (Chenopodium bonus-henricus) of the goosefoot family
See mercury in American Heritage Dictionary 4
(mûrˈkyə-rē)
noun- Symbol Hg A silvery-white poisonous metallic element, liquid at room temperature and used in thermometers, barometers, vapor lamps, and batteries and in the preparation of chemical pesticides. Atomic number 80; atomic weight 200.59; melting point -38.87°C; boiling point 356.58°C; specific gravity 13.546 (at 20°C); valence 1, 2. Also called quicksilver. See Table at element.
- Temperature: The mercury had fallen rapidly by morning.
- Any of several weedy plants of the genera Mercurialis or Acalypha.
(mûrˈkyə-rē)
noun- Roman Mythology A god that served as messenger to the other gods and was himself the god of commerce, travel, and thievery.
- The smallest of the inner planets and the one nearest the sun, having a sidereal period of revolution about the sun of 87.97 days at a mean distance of 57.91 million kilometers (35.98 million miles) and a mean radius of approximately 2,440 kilometers (1,516 miles).
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