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quicksilver
(kwik′sil′vər)
noun
mercury
Origin: ME < OE cwicseolfor < cwicu, living (see quick) + seolfor, silver: transl. of L argentum vivum, lit., living silver: from its liquid form
transitive verb
to cover with mercury
adjective
- of or like mercury
- suggestive of mercury; specif., quick, lively, brilliant, etc.
See quicksilver in American Heritage Dictionary 4
noun
See mercury.
adjective Unpredictable; mercurial: “a quicksilver character, cool and willful at one moment, utterly fragile the next” (Sven Birkerts).
Origin:
Origin: Middle English
Origin: , from Old English cwicseolfor, living silver (translation of Latin argentum vīvum)
Origin: : cwic, cwicu, alive; see gwei- in Indo-European roots
Origin: + seolfor, silver; see silver
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