Dog's mercury

Dog's mercury
Mercury Mer"cu*ry, n. [L. Mercurius; akin to merx wares.] 1. (Rom. Myth.) A Latin god of commerce and gain; -- treated by the poets as identical with the Greek Hermes, messenger of the gods, conductor of souls to the lower world, and god of eloquence. [1913 Webster]

2. (Chem.) A metallic element mostly obtained by reduction from cinnabar, one of its ores. It is a heavy, opaque, glistening liquid (commonly called {quicksilver}), and is used in barometers, thermometers, etc. Specific gravity 13.6. Symbol Hg (Hydrargyrum). Atomic weight 199.8. Mercury has a molecule which consists of only one atom. It was named by the alchemists after the god Mercury, and designated by his symbol, [mercury]. [1913 Webster]

Note: Mercury forms alloys, called amalgams, with many metals, and is thus used in applying tin foil to the backs of mirrors, and in extracting gold and silver from their ores. It is poisonous, and is used in medicine in the free state as in blue pill, and in its compounds as calomel, corrosive sublimate, etc. It is the only metal which is liquid at ordinary temperatures, and it solidifies at about -39[deg] Centigrade to a soft, malleable, ductile metal. [1913 Webster]

3. (Astron.) One of the planets of the solar system, being the one nearest the sun, from which its mean distance is about 36,000,000 miles. Its period is 88 days, and its diameter 3,000 miles. [1913 Webster]

4. A carrier of tidings; a newsboy; a messenger; hence, also, a newspaper. --Sir J. Stephen. ``The monthly Mercuries.'' --Macaulay. [1913 Webster]

5. Sprightly or mercurial quality; spirit; mutability; fickleness. [Obs.] [1913 Webster]

He was so full of mercury that he could not fix long in any friendship, or to any design. --Bp. Burnet. [1913 Webster]

6. (Bot.) A plant ({Mercurialis annua}), of the Spurge family, the leaves of which are sometimes used for spinach, in Europe. [1913 Webster]

Note: The name is also applied, in the United States, to certain climbing plants, some of which are poisonous to the skin, esp. to the {Rhus Toxicodendron}, or poison ivy. [1913 Webster]

{Dog's mercury} (Bot.), {Mercurialis perennis}, a perennial plant differing from {Mercurialis annua} by having the leaves sessile.

{English mercury} (Bot.), a kind of goosefoot formerly used as a pot herb; -- called {Good King Henry}.

{Horn mercury} (Min.), a mineral chloride of mercury, having a semitranslucent, hornlike appearance. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • Dog's Mercury — Taxobox name = Dog s Mercury image width = 250px regnum = Plantae divisio = Magnoliophyta classis = Mangnoliopsida ordo = Malpighiales familia = Euphorbiaceae genus = Mercurialis species = M. perennis binomial = Mercurialis perennis binomial… …   Wikipedia

  • dog's mercury — noun European perennial weedy plant with greenish flowers • Syn: ↑dog mercury, ↑Mercurialis perennis • Hypernyms: ↑herb, ↑herbaceous plant • Member Holonyms: ↑Mercurialis, ↑ …   Useful english dictionary

  • dog's-mercury — dog sˈ merˈcury noun A euphorbiaceous European plant (Mercurialis perennis) • • • Main Entry: ↑dog …   Useful english dictionary

  • dog's mercury — noun a plant of the spurge family, with hairy stems and small green flowers. [Mercurialis perennis.] Origin C16: translating mod. L. Mercurialis canina (former taxonomic name) …   English new terms dictionary

  • dog's mercury — /dɒgz ˈmɜkjəri/ (say dogz merkyuhree) noun a euphorbiaceous creeping perennial, Mercuralis perennis, with small unisexual flowers; common in woods of Europe and south western Asia …  

  • Mercury — Mer cu*ry, n. [L. Mercurius; akin to merx wares.] 1. (Rom. Myth.) A Latin god of commerce and gain; treated by the poets as identical with the Greek Hermes, messenger of the gods, conductor of souls to the lower world, and god of eloquence. [1913 …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • dog- — s mercury, dog see Mercury …   Useful english dictionary

  • dog'smercury — dog s mercury n. A creeping, ill smelling Old World weed (Mercurialis perennis) having small greenish flowers. * * * …   Universalium

  • dog mercury — noun European perennial weedy plant with greenish flowers • Syn: ↑dog s mercury, ↑Mercurialis perennis • Hypernyms: ↑herb, ↑herbaceous plant • Member Holonyms: ↑Mercurialis, ↑ …   Useful english dictionary

  • mercury — /ˈmɜkjəri / (say merkyuhree) noun (plural mercuries) 1. Chemistry a heavy, silver white metallic element, remarkable for its fluidity at ordinary temperatures; quicksilver. Symbol: Hg; relative atomic mass: 200.59; atomic number: 80; density:… …  

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