quicksilver

From Middle English quyk silver, quyksilver, quikselver, from Old English cwicseolfor (“quicksilver”, literally “living silver”) (see Latin argentum vivum) from its ability to move. See quick in the sense of "living". Equivalent to quick +‎ silver. Cognate with Dutch kwikzilver, German Low German Quicksülver, German Quecksilber, Danish kviksølv, Norwegian Bokmål kvikksølv, Swedish kvicksilver.

• (US) enPR: kwĭk'sĭlvər, IPA^(key): /ˈkwɪkˌsɪlvɚ/

quicksilver (uncountable)

1. The metal mercury.
2. (colloquial) An amalgam of mercury and tin applied to the backs of mirrors, quicksilvering.

• For quotations of use of this term, see Citations:quicksilver.

• (the metal mercury): mercury, hydrargyrum

quicksilver (not comparable)

1. Unpredictable, erratic or fickle; mercurial.
   • 2012 April 29, Nathan Rabin, “TV: Review: THE SIMPSONS (CLASSIC): “Treehouse of Horror III” (season 4, episode 5; originally aired 10/29/1992)”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name)‎:

     The idea of a merchant selling both totems of pure evil and frozen yogurt (he calls it frogurt!) is amusing in itself, as is the idea that frogurt could be cursed, but it’s really the Shopkeeper’s quicksilver shift from ominous doomsaying to chipper salesmanship that sells the sequence.

quicksilver (third-person singular simple present quicksilvers, present participle quicksilvering, simple past and past participle quicksilvered)

1. To overlay with quicksilver.
2. To treat with quicksilver.

• “Quicksilver” in David Barthelmy, Webmineral Mineralogy Database, 1997–.
• “quicksilver”, in Mindat.org‎, Hudson Institute of Mineralogy, accessed 29 August 2016.
• quicksilver in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1914