quicksilvern.

Brit.

/ˈkwɪkˌsɪlvə/, U.S.

/ˈkwɪkˌsɪlvər/

Forms: see quick adj., n.¹, and adv. and silver n.; also late Middle English quiksiluys (transmission error).

Origin: A word inherited from Germanic; modelled on a Latin lexical item.

Etymology: Either cognate with or formed similarly to Middle Dutch quicsilver , quicselver (Dutch kwikzilver ; now usually kwik ), Middle Low German quiksülver , quiksilver , queksülver , Old High German quecsilabar (Middle High German quecsilber , kecsilber , German Quecksilber ) < the Germanic base of quick adj. + the Germanic base of silver n., after classical Latin argentum vīvum (Pliny). Compare Old Norwegian kviksilfr, Old Swedish qviksilf, qviksilver (Swedish kvicksilver), Old Danish quiksilf, qwiksylf, quicsølf (Danish kvægsølv, kviksølv), all after Middle Low German. Compare also Anglo-Norman vif argent and Old French vis argent (c1150; Middle French, French vif-argent; now chiefly figurative) and also Anglo-Norman and Old French argent vif (c1270; Middle French, French argent-vif, argent-vif; now rare).The seeming lack of continuity of use with the Old English is probably merely due to lack of scientific writings containing references to mercury in the intervening period. It is nevertheless possible that the Middle English use was influenced by Anglo-Norman and French. Compare mercury n. 7. In quicksilvery adj. at Derivatives originally after French †vif-argentin (1611 in quot. 1611 for quicksilvery adj. at Derivatives). Compare slightly earlier quicksilvered adj.

1. The liquid metal mercury.Now chiefly as an object of comparison, with reference to its rapid movement, shiny surface, tendency to form small droplets, etc.

ΘΚΠ

the world > matter > chemistry > elements and compounds > metals > specific elements > mercury > [noun]

quicksilvereOE

mercuryc1395

Hermes1667

society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > metal > base metal > [noun] > mercury

quicksilvereOE

mercuryc1395

argent-vive1453

hydrargyrum1563

silver1607

spirit1661

quick1852

eOE Leechbk. (Royal) (1865) iii. lxix. 356 Wiþ magan wærce, rudan sæd & cwicseolfor & eced bergen.

c1387–95 G. Chaucer Canterbury Tales Prol. 629 Ther nas quyk siluer[v.r. whike-siluer], lytarge, ne brymstoon..That hym myghte helpen of his whelkes white.

a1450–1500 ( Libel Eng. Policy (1926) 58 (MED) Commodytes..commynge oute of Spayne..Bene..Saffron, quiksilver.

c1500 (?a1475) Assembly of Gods (1896) 370 (MED) A box with quyksyluer he had in hys hand; Multyplyers know hit well in euery land.

1555 R. Eden tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde f. 335^v By the helpe of quickesyluer, it is drawen owt.

1625 N. Carpenter Geogr. Delineated ii. v. 71 Quick siluer..will gather it selfe to a round body.

1669 J. Worlidge Systema Agriculturæ xiii. 259 This Column of Quicksilver in the Tub, is supported by the weight of the Air ambient.

1731 B. Franklin in W. Pepper Med. Side B. Franklin (1911) 20 An imprudent use of quicksilver in the cure of the itch.

1782 W. Cowper Progress of Error in Poems 21 Like quicksilver, the rhetoric they display Shines as it runs, but grasped at slips away.

1825 J. Neal Brother Jonathan I. 326 A profusion of little rain-drops; like spattered quicksilver.

1870 J. Yeats Nat. Hist. Commerce 360 Quicksilver is met with pure in minute globules, but for the purposes of commerce it is obtained from one of its ores,—cinnabar, a red sulphide of mercury.

1918 B. Tarkington Magnificent Ambersons xxxi. 435 Life and money both behave like loose quicksilver in a nest of cracks.

1991 R. Kerridge Jaunting through Ireland (BNC) A map of Lough Erne resembles a giant spoonful of quicksilver emptied over Ireland to form and re-form in myriad fluid blobs.

2. Used allusively.

a. With reference to the rapid motion of which quicksilver is capable. Cf. mercury n. 9.

ΘΚΠ

the world > movement > rate of motion > swiftness > [noun] > one who or that which moves swiftly > typically

wind1377

swallowc1380

quicksilver1562

shoes of swiftness1787

1562 J. Heywood Wks. sig. Xiij She thinkth hir farthing good syluer, but trust me She is quycke syluer, what euer hir farthyng be.

1622 F. Bacon Hist. Raigne Henry VII 192 Perkin (who was made of Quick-silver, which is hard to hold or imprison) began to stirre.

1654 E. Gayton Pleasant Notes Don Quixot iii. vii. 111 Mercurie..hath so spiritiz'd their whole Oeconomie, that they are Quick-silver to their finger ends.

1820 W. Scott Abbot II. iv. 108 Thou hast quicksilver in the veins of thee to a certainty.

1889 Boy's Own Paper 17 Aug. 730/3 I..had come off the journey with my veins full of quicksilver.

1929 S. Lewis Dodsworth xxi. 242 She was lovely quicksilver, but quicksilver is hard for a thick hand to hold.

1991 J. Richardson Life of Picasso I. 478 She lets the quicksilver of his mind..flow freely.

b. With reference to its brightness or reflective qualities (sometimes also to its use in mirrors: cf. quicksilver v.).

ΘΚΠ

the world > matter > light > intensity of light > [noun] > something bright > specific

quicksilver1820

stainless steel1963

1820 ‘B. Cornwall’ Sicilian Story 69 King Phoebus in the East..turn'd to clear quicksilver every billow.

1851 F. W. Robertson Serm. (1864) 2nd Ser. xii. 166 The dull quicksilver of their own selfishness behind the glass.

1920 ‘K. Mansfield’ Jrnl. Sept. (1977) 177 The pools and rivers were quicksilver.

1997 G. Clarke Coll. Poems 80 I see the impossible silver battlements of distant glaciers, and in the valley water's quicksilver.

Compounds

C1.

a. General attributive, with sense ‘of or relating to quicksilver, consisting of or containing quicksilver’, as quicksilver bath, quicksilver earth, quicksilver field, quicksilver globe, quicksilver mine, quicksilver ore, quicksilver tank, etc.

1552 R. Huloet Abcedarium Anglico Latinum Quyckesyluer earth, antrax.

1685 London Gaz. No. 1996/1 The Quick-Silver Ships may be expected this month at Cadiz.

1757 tr. J. G. Keyssler Trav. III. 384 Cinnabar or quicksilver ore.

1793 T. Beddoes Observ. Nature & Cure Calculus 142 Some persons whose skin is no sooner touched with quicksilver ointment than it is felt in the salivary glands.

1838 Penny Cycl. XII. 397/1 A mineral found in the quicksilver mines of Idria.

1839 F. Marryat Phantom Ship I. iii. 61 In the centre of the ceiling hung a quicksilver globe, a common ornament in those days.

1877 R. W. Raymond Statistics Mines & Mining 19 A very important quicksilver-field is about to be opened in the far north.

1877 R. W. Raymond Statistics Mines & Mining 260 A..clever arrangement of quicksilver-tanks.

1983 T. Pratchett Colour of Magic 47 You spend twenty years learning the spell that makes nude virgins appear.., and then you're so poisoned by quicksilver fumes..that you can't remember what happens next.

b. With sense ‘resembling quicksilver (in quickness, volatility, etc.)’, as quicksilver mind, quicksilver rebel, quicksilver rogue, quicksilver temper, etc.

1607 T. Walkington Optick Glasse sig. A3^v Sal, Sulphur, and Mercurius, the Tria omnia of their [sc. the Paracelsians'] quicksiluer wits.

a1631 J. Donne Apparition in Poems (1633) 191 Bath'd in a cold quicksilver sweat.

1655 W. Gurnall Christian in Armour: 1st Pt. 248 Labour therefore in hearing the Word to fixe thy quicksilver-minde.

1676 W. Hubbard Happiness of People 29 These are Inquieta ingenia of Quick-silver tempers.

1767 T. Hull Perplexities v. 66 I suppose you wish every body to have such a quicksilver heart, as yours: that can settle no where.

1796 Earl Balcarres in B. Edwards Proc. Maroon Negroes 35 Until such time as these quick-silver rebels are under lock and key.

1833 T. S. Fay Crayon Sketches I. 127 The present quicksilver generation.

1863 C. C. Clarke Shakespeare-characters xiv. 360 That prince of quicksilver rogues—Master Autolycus.

1922 D. H. Lawrence England my England 23 From mother and nurse..a..gunfire of commands, and blithe, quicksilver disobedience from the three blonde, never-still little girls.

a1944 K. Douglas Alamein to Zem Zem (1946) xiii. 79 We couldn't expect Robin to supply Ken Tinker's quicksilver dash and brilliance in action.

1979 S. Brett Comedian Dies ii. 24 The quicksilver repartee of Charles Paris was at last to be accorded its proper recognition.

2004 Cincinnati Enquirer (Nexis) 19 Dec. 9 k The complex intelligence and quicksilver personality of Hughes.

c. Objective, as quicksilver feeder, quicksilver-fixation, quicksilver production; quicksilver-producing adj.

1834 Edinb. Rev. Jan. 512 The periwig company, and the Spanish-jack-ass-company, and the quicksilver-fixation-company.

1877 R. W. Raymond Statistics Mines & Mining 19 Coming south from Trinity, the next quicksilver-producing locality..is in the Coast Range.

1882 Rep. House of Representatives Precious Metals (U.S.) 507 A quicksilver feeder has been devised for feeding mercury to gold mills.

1955 Times 30 June 9/2 General Franco has paid his first visit to Almaden, the quicksilver producing region of Spain.

1998 D. O. Flynn et al. Stud. Econ. Hist. Pacific Rim xiii. 211 A single mine..dominated world quicksilver production for centuries.

C2.

quicksilver pendulum n. now historical = mercurial pendulum n. at mercurial n. and adj. Compounds.

ΘΚΠ

the world > time > instruments for measuring time > clock > [noun] > pendulum clock > pendulum

pendule1660

pendulum1660

simple pendulum1673

bob-pendulum1685

swing1696

quicksilver pendulum1726

pendle1741

gridiron pendulum1751

mercurial pendulum1786

gridiron1793

wanrest1794

seconds pendulum1795

conical pendulum1813

ticker1821

noddy1844

1726 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 34 42 The Irregularity of the Clock, with the Quicksilver Pendulum..exceeded not..a sixth Part of that..with the common Pendulum.

1753 J. Ellicott Descr. Two Methods 34 Mr. Graham first invented the quicksilver pendulum, and brought it to the perfection it now has.

1943 Times 16 Oct. 10/3 (advt.) French movement quicksilver pendulum clock.

quicksilver water n. [compare earlier quick-water n. at quick adj., n.¹, and adv. Compounds 1b] now historical a solution of mercuric nitrate.

ΚΠ

1751 M. Delany Autobiogr. & Corr. (1861) III. 53 Quick-silver-water is the most effectual remedy for worms.

1817 H. Clarke & J. Dougall Cabinet of Arts xiii. 532 For this purpose, a solution of mercury in nitrous acid (aquafortis), or what the workmen call quicksilver water, is applied to the parts intended to be gilded.

1910 Encycl. Brit. XII. 13/2 A deposit of mercury is obtained on a metallic surface by means of ‘quicksilver water’, a solution of nitrate of mercury.

1943 F. Marvin & M. Lowenthal This was N.Y. vii. 90 Cupping did for asthma, a cow-dung poultice for bruises, quicksilver water for worms, a rotten apple for a sty.

Derivatives

ˈquickˌsilverish adj. somewhat quicksilvery.

1874 B. F. Taylor World on Wheels ii. i. 188 The quicksilverish atoms of humanity that hunt out every grain of true gold in the rubbish of life.

1964 School Rev. 72 495 The behavioral sciences..increasingly seem to underline the quicksilverish..nature of the important aspects of human behavior.

1999 USA Today (Nexis) 30 Mar. (Life section) 4 d Conductor Rene Jacobs has a remarkable sixth sense for adapting tempos..without losing a quicksilverish momentum.

ˈquicksilverishˌness n. liveliness, volatility.

1852 D. M. Mulock Agatha's Husband II. i. 17 She had..a certain quicksilverishness of manner, jumping here there everywhere like mercury on a plate.

2001 Hindu (Nexis) 6 May You may be more moved by his fellow film makers Abbas Kiarostami or Dariush Mehrjui, and still be intrigued by Makhmalbaf's quicksilverishness.

ˈquickˌsilvery adj. of the nature of or resembling quicksilver; bright, lively, volatile.

ΘΚΠ

society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > metal > base metal > [adjective] > mercury

mercurial1559

quicksilvery1611

hydrargyrous1646

hydrargyral1664

hydrargyric1854

hydrargyrate1864

the world > time > change > changeableness > [adjective]

slidinga900

wankleeOE

windyc1000

unsteadfastc1200

fleeting?c1225

loose?c1225

brotelc1315

unstablec1340

varyingc1340

variantc1374

motleyc1380

ungroundedc1380

muablea1393

passiblea1393

remuablea1393

changeablea1398

movablea1398

variablec1397

slidderya1400

ticklec1400

variantc1412

flitting1413

mutable?a1425

movingc1425

flaskisable1430

flickering1430

transmutablec1430

vertible1447

brittlea1450

ficklea1450

permutablec1450

unfirmc1450

uncertain1477

turnable1483

unsteadfast1483

vagrantc1522

inconstant1526

alterable?1531

stirringc1540

slippery1548

various1552

slid?1553

mutala1561

rolling1561

weathery1563

unconstant1568

interchangeable1574

fluctuant1575

stayless1575

transitive1575

voluble1575

changeling1577

queasy1579

desultory1581

huff-puff1582

unstaid1586

vagrant1586

changeful1590

floating1594

Protean1594

unstayed1594

swimming1596

anchorless1597

mobilec1600

ticklish1601

catching1603

labile1603

unrooted1604

quicksilvered1605

versatile1605

insubstantial1607

uncertain1609

brandling1611

rootless1611

squeasy1611

wind-changinga1616

insolid1618

ambulatory1625

versatilous1629

plastic1633

desultorious1637

unbottomed1641

fluid1642

fluent1648

yea-and-nay1648

versipellous1650

flexile1651

uncentred1652

variating1653

chequered1656

slideable1662

transchangeative1662

weathercock-like1663

flicketing1674

fluxa1677

lapsable1678

wanton1681

veering1684

upon the weathercock1702

contingent1703

unsettled?1726

fermentable1731

afloat1757

brickle1768

wavy1795

vagarious1798

unsettled1803

fitful1810

metamorphosical1811

undulating1815

tittupya1817

titubant1817

mutative1818

papier mâché1818

teetotum1819

vacillating1822

capricious1823

sensitive1828

quicksilvery1829

unengrafted1829

fluxionala1834

proteiform1833

liquid1835

tottlish1835

kaleidoscopic1846

versative1846

kaleidoscopical1858

tottery1861

choppy1865

variative1874

variational1879

wimbly-wambly1881

fluctuable1882

shifty1882

giveable1884

shifty1884

tippy1886

mutatory1890

upsettable1890

rocky1897

undulatory1897

streaky1898

tottly1905

tipply1906

up and down1907

inertialess1927

sometimey1946

rise-and-fall1950

switchable1961

1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Vif-Argentin, quicke-siluerie.

1829 Honeycomb & Bitter Gourd in A. Cunningham Anniversary 118 The flighty and quicksilvery youth of the parish.

1891 T. Hardy Tess of the D'Urbervilles II. xxx. 112 The quicksilvery glaze on the rivers and pools.

1951 S. J. Perelman Let. 26 Oct. in Don't tread on Me (1987) 117 Some old windbag..is coming out here tomorrow noon to interview me. I must get into condition to be quicksilvery.

1991 Atlantic Jan. 90/2 I exhaled through the mouthpiece of my scuba regulator and watched the quicksilvery bubbles wobble up toward the surface.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2007; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

单词	quicksilver
释义	quicksilvern. Brit. /ˈkwɪkˌsɪlvə/, U.S. /ˈkwɪkˌsɪlvər/ Forms: see quick adj., n.¹, and adv. and silver n.; also late Middle English quiksiluys (transmission error). Origin: A word inherited from Germanic; modelled on a Latin lexical item. Etymology: Either cognate with or formed similarly to Middle Dutch quicsilver , quicselver (Dutch kwikzilver ; now usually kwik ), Middle Low German quiksülver , quiksilver , queksülver , Old High German quecsilabar (Middle High German quecsilber , kecsilber , German Quecksilber ) < the Germanic base of quick adj. + the Germanic base of silver n., after classical Latin argentum vīvum (Pliny). Compare Old Norwegian kviksilfr, Old Swedish qviksilf, qviksilver (Swedish kvicksilver), Old Danish quiksilf, qwiksylf, quicsølf (Danish kvægsølv, kviksølv), all after Middle Low German. Compare also Anglo-Norman vif argent and Old French vis argent (c1150; Middle French, French vif-argent; now chiefly figurative) and also Anglo-Norman and Old French argent vif (c1270; Middle French, French argent-vif, argent-vif; now rare).The seeming lack of continuity of use with the Old English is probably merely due to lack of scientific writings containing references to mercury in the intervening period. It is nevertheless possible that the Middle English use was influenced by Anglo-Norman and French. Compare mercury n. 7. In quicksilvery adj. at Derivatives originally after French †vif-argentin (1611 in quot. 1611 for quicksilvery adj. at Derivatives). Compare slightly earlier quicksilvered adj. 1. The liquid metal mercury.Now chiefly as an object of comparison, with reference to its rapid movement, shiny surface, tendency to form small droplets, etc. ΘΚΠ the world > matter > chemistry > elements and compounds > metals > specific elements > mercury > [noun] quicksilvereOE mercuryc1395 Hermes1667 society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > metal > base metal > [noun] > mercury quicksilvereOE mercuryc1395 argent-vive1453 hydrargyrum1563 silver1607 spirit1661 quick1852 eOE Leechbk. (Royal) (1865) iii. lxix. 356 Wiþ magan wærce, rudan sæd & cwicseolfor & eced bergen. c1387–95 G. Chaucer Canterbury Tales Prol. 629 Ther nas quyk siluer[v.r. whike-siluer], lytarge, ne brymstoon..That hym myghte helpen of his whelkes white. a1450–1500 ( Libel Eng. Policy (1926) 58 (MED) Commodytes..commynge oute of Spayne..Bene..Saffron, quiksilver. c1500 (?a1475) Assembly of Gods (1896) 370 (MED) A box with quyksyluer he had in hys hand; Multyplyers know hit well in euery land. 1555 R. Eden tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde f. 335^v By the helpe of quickesyluer, it is drawen owt. 1625 N. Carpenter Geogr. Delineated ii. v. 71 Quick siluer..will gather it selfe to a round body. 1669 J. Worlidge Systema Agriculturæ xiii. 259 This Column of Quicksilver in the Tub, is supported by the weight of the Air ambient. 1731 B. Franklin in W. Pepper Med. Side B. Franklin (1911) 20 An imprudent use of quicksilver in the cure of the itch. 1782 W. Cowper Progress of Error in Poems 21 Like quicksilver, the rhetoric they display Shines as it runs, but grasped at slips away. 1825 J. Neal Brother Jonathan I. 326 A profusion of little rain-drops; like spattered quicksilver. 1870 J. Yeats Nat. Hist. Commerce 360 Quicksilver is met with pure in minute globules, but for the purposes of commerce it is obtained from one of its ores,—cinnabar, a red sulphide of mercury. 1918 B. Tarkington Magnificent Ambersons xxxi. 435 Life and money both behave like loose quicksilver in a nest of cracks. 1991 R. Kerridge Jaunting through Ireland (BNC) A map of Lough Erne resembles a giant spoonful of quicksilver emptied over Ireland to form and re-form in myriad fluid blobs. 2. Used allusively. a. With reference to the rapid motion of which quicksilver is capable. Cf. mercury n. 9. ΘΚΠ the world > movement > rate of motion > swiftness > [noun] > one who or that which moves swiftly > typically wind1377 swallowc1380 quicksilver1562 shoes of swiftness1787 1562 J. Heywood Wks. sig. Xiij She thinkth hir farthing good syluer, but trust me She is quycke syluer, what euer hir farthyng be. 1622 F. Bacon Hist. Raigne Henry VII 192 Perkin (who was made of Quick-silver, which is hard to hold or imprison) began to stirre. 1654 E. Gayton Pleasant Notes Don Quixot iii. vii. 111 Mercurie..hath so spiritiz'd their whole Oeconomie, that they are Quick-silver to their finger ends. 1820 W. Scott Abbot II. iv. 108 Thou hast quicksilver in the veins of thee to a certainty. 1889 Boy's Own Paper 17 Aug. 730/3 I..had come off the journey with my veins full of quicksilver. 1929 S. Lewis Dodsworth xxi. 242 She was lovely quicksilver, but quicksilver is hard for a thick hand to hold. 1991 J. Richardson Life of Picasso I. 478 She lets the quicksilver of his mind..flow freely. b. With reference to its brightness or reflective qualities (sometimes also to its use in mirrors: cf. quicksilver v.). ΘΚΠ the world > matter > light > intensity of light > [noun] > something bright > specific quicksilver1820 stainless steel1963 1820 ‘B. Cornwall’ Sicilian Story 69 King Phoebus in the East..turn'd to clear quicksilver every billow. 1851 F. W. Robertson Serm. (1864) 2nd Ser. xii. 166 The dull quicksilver of their own selfishness behind the glass. 1920 ‘K. Mansfield’ Jrnl. Sept. (1977) 177 The pools and rivers were quicksilver. 1997 G. Clarke Coll. Poems 80 I see the impossible silver battlements of distant glaciers, and in the valley water's quicksilver. Compounds C1. a. General attributive, with sense ‘of or relating to quicksilver, consisting of or containing quicksilver’, as quicksilver bath, quicksilver earth, quicksilver field, quicksilver globe, quicksilver mine, quicksilver ore, quicksilver tank, etc. Π 1552 R. Huloet Abcedarium Anglico Latinum Quyckesyluer earth, antrax. 1685 London Gaz. No. 1996/1 The Quick-Silver Ships may be expected this month at Cadiz. 1757 tr. J. G. Keyssler Trav. III. 384 Cinnabar or quicksilver ore. 1793 T. Beddoes Observ. Nature & Cure Calculus 142 Some persons whose skin is no sooner touched with quicksilver ointment than it is felt in the salivary glands. 1838 Penny Cycl. XII. 397/1 A mineral found in the quicksilver mines of Idria. 1839 F. Marryat Phantom Ship I. iii. 61 In the centre of the ceiling hung a quicksilver globe, a common ornament in those days. 1877 R. W. Raymond Statistics Mines & Mining 19 A very important quicksilver-field is about to be opened in the far north. 1877 R. W. Raymond Statistics Mines & Mining 260 A..clever arrangement of quicksilver-tanks. 1983 T. Pratchett Colour of Magic 47 You spend twenty years learning the spell that makes nude virgins appear.., and then you're so poisoned by quicksilver fumes..that you can't remember what happens next. b. With sense ‘resembling quicksilver (in quickness, volatility, etc.)’, as quicksilver mind, quicksilver rebel, quicksilver rogue, quicksilver temper, etc. Π 1607 T. Walkington Optick Glasse sig. A3^v Sal, Sulphur, and Mercurius, the Tria omnia of their [sc. the Paracelsians'] quicksiluer wits. a1631 J. Donne Apparition in Poems (1633) 191 Bath'd in a cold quicksilver sweat. 1655 W. Gurnall Christian in Armour: 1st Pt. 248 Labour therefore in hearing the Word to fixe thy quicksilver-minde. 1676 W. Hubbard Happiness of People 29 These are Inquieta ingenia of Quick-silver tempers. 1767 T. Hull Perplexities v. 66 I suppose you wish every body to have such a quicksilver heart, as yours: that can settle no where. 1796 Earl Balcarres in B. Edwards Proc. Maroon Negroes 35 Until such time as these quick-silver rebels are under lock and key. 1833 T. S. Fay Crayon Sketches I. 127 The present quicksilver generation. 1863 C. C. Clarke Shakespeare-characters xiv. 360 That prince of quicksilver rogues—Master Autolycus. 1922 D. H. Lawrence England my England 23 From mother and nurse..a..gunfire of commands, and blithe, quicksilver disobedience from the three blonde, never-still little girls. a1944 K. Douglas Alamein to Zem Zem (1946) xiii. 79 We couldn't expect Robin to supply Ken Tinker's quicksilver dash and brilliance in action. 1979 S. Brett Comedian Dies ii. 24 The quicksilver repartee of Charles Paris was at last to be accorded its proper recognition. 2004 Cincinnati Enquirer (Nexis) 19 Dec. 9 k The complex intelligence and quicksilver personality of Hughes. c. Objective, as quicksilver feeder, quicksilver-fixation, quicksilver production; quicksilver-producing adj. Π 1834 Edinb. Rev. Jan. 512 The periwig company, and the Spanish-jack-ass-company, and the quicksilver-fixation-company. 1877 R. W. Raymond Statistics Mines & Mining 19 Coming south from Trinity, the next quicksilver-producing locality..is in the Coast Range. 1882 Rep. House of Representatives Precious Metals (U.S.) 507 A quicksilver feeder has been devised for feeding mercury to gold mills. 1955 Times 30 June 9/2 General Franco has paid his first visit to Almaden, the quicksilver producing region of Spain. 1998 D. O. Flynn et al. Stud. Econ. Hist. Pacific Rim xiii. 211 A single mine..dominated world quicksilver production for centuries. C2. quicksilver pendulum n. now historical = mercurial pendulum n. at mercurial n. and adj. Compounds. ΘΚΠ the world > time > instruments for measuring time > clock > [noun] > pendulum clock > pendulum pendule1660 pendulum1660 simple pendulum1673 bob-pendulum1685 swing1696 quicksilver pendulum1726 pendle1741 gridiron pendulum1751 mercurial pendulum1786 gridiron1793 wanrest1794 seconds pendulum1795 conical pendulum1813 ticker1821 noddy1844 1726 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 34 42 The Irregularity of the Clock, with the Quicksilver Pendulum..exceeded not..a sixth Part of that..with the common Pendulum. 1753 J. Ellicott Descr. Two Methods 34 Mr. Graham first invented the quicksilver pendulum, and brought it to the perfection it now has. 1943 Times 16 Oct. 10/3 (advt.) French movement quicksilver pendulum clock. quicksilver water n. [compare earlier quick-water n. at quick adj., n.¹, and adv. Compounds 1b] now historical a solution of mercuric nitrate. ΚΠ 1751 M. Delany Autobiogr. & Corr. (1861) III. 53 Quick-silver-water is the most effectual remedy for worms. 1817 H. Clarke & J. Dougall Cabinet of Arts xiii. 532 For this purpose, a solution of mercury in nitrous acid (aquafortis), or what the workmen call quicksilver water, is applied to the parts intended to be gilded. 1910 Encycl. Brit. XII. 13/2 A deposit of mercury is obtained on a metallic surface by means of ‘quicksilver water’, a solution of nitrate of mercury. 1943 F. Marvin & M. Lowenthal This was N.Y. vii. 90 Cupping did for asthma, a cow-dung poultice for bruises, quicksilver water for worms, a rotten apple for a sty. Derivatives ˈquickˌsilverish adj. somewhat quicksilvery. Π 1874 B. F. Taylor World on Wheels ii. i. 188 The quicksilverish atoms of humanity that hunt out every grain of true gold in the rubbish of life. 1964 School Rev. 72 495 The behavioral sciences..increasingly seem to underline the quicksilverish..nature of the important aspects of human behavior. 1999 USA Today (Nexis) 30 Mar. (Life section) 4 d Conductor Rene Jacobs has a remarkable sixth sense for adapting tempos..without losing a quicksilverish momentum. ˈquicksilverishˌness n. liveliness, volatility. Π 1852 D. M. Mulock Agatha's Husband II. i. 17 She had..a certain quicksilverishness of manner, jumping here there everywhere like mercury on a plate. 2001 Hindu (Nexis) 6 May You may be more moved by his fellow film makers Abbas Kiarostami or Dariush Mehrjui, and still be intrigued by Makhmalbaf's quicksilverishness. ˈquickˌsilvery adj. of the nature of or resembling quicksilver; bright, lively, volatile. ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > metal > base metal > [adjective] > mercury mercurial1559 quicksilvery1611 hydrargyrous1646 hydrargyral1664 hydrargyric1854 hydrargyrate1864 the world > time > change > changeableness > [adjective] slidinga900 wankleeOE windyc1000 unsteadfastc1200 fleeting?c1225 loose?c1225 brotelc1315 unstablec1340 varyingc1340 variantc1374 motleyc1380 ungroundedc1380 muablea1393 passiblea1393 remuablea1393 changeablea1398 movablea1398 variablec1397 slidderya1400 ticklec1400 variantc1412 flitting1413 mutable?a1425 movingc1425 flaskisable1430 flickering1430 transmutablec1430 vertible1447 brittlea1450 ficklea1450 permutablec1450 unfirmc1450 uncertain1477 turnable1483 unsteadfast1483 vagrantc1522 inconstant1526 alterable?1531 stirringc1540 slippery1548 various1552 slid?1553 mutala1561 rolling1561 weathery1563 unconstant1568 interchangeable1574 fluctuant1575 stayless1575 transitive1575 voluble1575 changeling1577 queasy1579 desultory1581 huff-puff1582 unstaid1586 vagrant1586 changeful1590 floating1594 Protean1594 unstayed1594 swimming1596 anchorless1597 mobilec1600 ticklish1601 catching1603 labile1603 unrooted1604 quicksilvered1605 versatile1605 insubstantial1607 uncertain1609 brandling1611 rootless1611 squeasy1611 wind-changinga1616 insolid1618 ambulatory1625 versatilous1629 plastic1633 desultorious1637 unbottomed1641 fluid1642 fluent1648 yea-and-nay1648 versipellous1650 flexile1651 uncentred1652 variating1653 chequered1656 slideable1662 transchangeative1662 weathercock-like1663 flicketing1674 fluxa1677 lapsable1678 wanton1681 veering1684 upon the weathercock1702 contingent1703 unsettled?1726 fermentable1731 afloat1757 brickle1768 wavy1795 vagarious1798 unsettled1803 fitful1810 metamorphosical1811 undulating1815 tittupya1817 titubant1817 mutative1818 papier mâché1818 teetotum1819 vacillating1822 capricious1823 sensitive1828 quicksilvery1829 unengrafted1829 fluxionala1834 proteiform1833 liquid1835 tottlish1835 kaleidoscopic1846 versative1846 kaleidoscopical1858 tottery1861 choppy1865 variative1874 variational1879 wimbly-wambly1881 fluctuable1882 shifty1882 giveable1884 shifty1884 tippy1886 mutatory1890 upsettable1890 rocky1897 undulatory1897 streaky1898 tottly1905 tipply1906 up and down1907 inertialess1927 sometimey1946 rise-and-fall1950 switchable1961 1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Vif-Argentin, quicke-siluerie. 1829 Honeycomb & Bitter Gourd in A. Cunningham Anniversary 118 The flighty and quicksilvery youth of the parish. 1891 T. Hardy Tess of the D'Urbervilles II. xxx. 112 The quicksilvery glaze on the rivers and pools. 1951 S. J. Perelman Let. 26 Oct. in Don't tread on Me (1987) 117 Some old windbag..is coming out here tomorrow noon to interview me. I must get into condition to be quicksilvery. 1991 Atlantic Jan. 90/2 I exhaled through the mouthpiece of my scuba regulator and watched the quicksilvery bubbles wobble up toward the surface. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2007; most recently modified version published online June 2022). quicksilverv. Brit. /ˈkwɪkˌsɪlvə/, U.S. /ˈkwɪkˌsɪlvər/ Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: quicksilver n. Etymology: < quicksilver n. Compare earlier quicksilvered adj. Now chiefly historical. transitive. To treat or mix with quicksilver; esp. to coat (glass) with an amalgam of mercury and tin in order to make it reflective. ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > optical instruments > mirror > [verb (transitive)] > coat mirror silverc1635 quicksilver1704 1704 I. Newton Opticks i. i. 77 Metal..reflects not so much Light as Glass quick-silvered over does. 1738 G. Smith tr. Laboratory iii. 85 How to Quicksilver the Inside of Glass Globes, so as to make them like Looking Glass. 1831 D. Brewster Treat. Optics i. 4 The glass is always quicksilvered on the back, to make it reflect more light. 1877 Harper's Mag. Oct. 747/1 Macquer, the French chemist, found that glass quicksilvered like an ordinary looking-glass answered very well. 1987 Vistas in Astron. 30 155 The first problem was that in the seventeenth century the only method of ‘silvering’ glass was to ‘quicksilver’ it. Derivatives ˈquickˌsilvering n. [compare earlier quickening n.²] the action or process of coating glass with quicksilver or amalgam; (concrete) a coating of quicksilver or amalgam. ΚΠ 1750 tr. E. Jourdan de Pellerin Treat. Venereal Maladies 84 There is sold at Paris a great deal of adulterated mercury, particularly that which is taken from the back of broken looking-glasses; which is no other than mercury amalgamated with tin; and this is what they call quicksilvering. 1875 Johnson's New Universal Cycl. III. 539/1 These disadvantages of the quicksilvering process have turned the attention of manufacturers to the use of pure silver for backing mirrors. 1906 Ann. Amer. Acad. Polit. & Social Sci. 28 110 Forty-four occupations are forbidden for children under 16... Manufacturing of packing tar oil, quicksilvering of mirrors, [etc.]. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < n.eOEv.1704
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quicksilvern.

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quicksilverv.

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