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mercury |
5 definitions found From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: 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. 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, ect. 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]. 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. 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. 4. A carrier of tidings; a newsboy; a messenger; hence also a newspaper. --Sir J. Stephen. ``The monthly Mercuries.'' --Macaulay. 5. Sprightly or mercurial quality; spirit; mutability; fickleness. [Obs.] He was so full of mercury that he could not fix long in any friendship, or to any design. --Bp. Burnet. 6. (Bot.) A plant ({Mercurialis annua}), of the Spurge family, the leaves of which are sometimes used for spinach, in Europe. 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. {Dog's mercury} (Bot.), {Mercurialis perennis}, a perennial plant differing from {M. 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. From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Mercury \Mer"cu*ry\, v. t. To wash with a preparation of mercury. [Obs.] --B. Jonson From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Poison \Poi"son\, n. [F. poison, in Old French also a potion, fr L. potio a drink, draught, potion, a poisonous draught, fr potare to drink. See {Potable}, and cf {Potion}.] 1. Any agent which when introduced into the animal organism, is capable of producing a morbid, noxious, or deadly effect upon it as morphine is a deadly poison; the poison of pestilential diseases. 2. That which taints or destroys moral purity or health; as the poison of evil example; the poison of sin. {Poison ash}. (Bot.) a A tree of the genus {Amyris} ({A. balsamifera}) found in the West Indies, from the trunk of which a black liquor distills, supposed to have poisonous qualities. b The poison sumac ({Rhus venenata}). [U. S.] {Poison dogwood} (Bot.), poison sumac. {Poison fang} (Zo["o]l.), one of the superior maxillary teeth of some species of serpents, which besides having the cavity for the pulp, is either perforated or grooved by a longitudinal canal, at the lower end of which the duct of the poison gland terminates. See Illust. under {Fang}. {Poison gland} (Biol.), a gland, in animals or plants, which secretes an acrid or venomous matter, that is conveyed along an organ capable of inflicting a wound. {Poison hemlock} (Bot.), a poisonous umbelliferous plant ({Conium maculatum}). See {Hemlock}. {Poison ivy} (Bot.), a poisonous climbing plant ({Rhus Toxicodendron}) of North America. It is common on stone walls and on the trunks of trees, and has trifoliate, rhombic-ovate, variously notched leaves. Many people are poisoned by it if they touch the leaves. See {Poison sumac}. Called also {poison oak}, and {mercury}. {Poison nut}. (Bot.) a Nux vomica. b The tree which yields this seed ({Strychnos Nuxvomica}). It is found on the Malabar and Coromandel coasts. {Poison oak} (Bot.), the poison ivy; also the more shrubby {Rhus diversiloba} of California and Oregon. {Poison sac}. (Zo["o]l.) Same as {Poison gland}, above. See Illust. under {Fang}. {Poison sumac} (Bot.), a poisonous shrub of the genus {Rhus} ({R. venenata}); -- also called {poison ash}, {poison dogwood}, and {poison elder}. It has pinnate leaves on graceful and slender common petioles, and usually grows in swampy places. Both this plant and the poison ivy ({Rhus Toxicodendron}) have clusters of smooth greenish white berries, while the red-fruited species of this genus are harmless. The tree ({Rhus vernicifera}) which yields the celebrated Japan lacquer is almost identical with the poison sumac, and is also very poisonous. The juice of the poison sumac also forms a lacquer similar to that of Japan. Syn: Venom; virus; bane; pest; malignity. Usage: {Poison}, {Venom}. Poison usually denotes something received into the system by the mouth, breath, etc Venom is something discharged from animals and received by means of a wound, as by the bite or sting of serpents, scorpions, etc Hence venom specifically implies some malignity of nature or purpose. From WordNet r 1.6 [wn]: mercury n 1: a heavy silvery toxic univalent and bivalent metallic element; the only metal that is liquid at ordinary temperatures [syn: {quicksilver}, {Hg}, {atomic number 80}] 2: (Roman mythology) messenger of Jupiter and god of commerce; counterpart of Greek Hermes [syn: {Mercury}] 3: the smallest planet and the nearest to the sun [syn: {Mercury}] From Elements database 20001107 [elements]: mercury Symbol: Hg Atomic number: 80 Atomic weight: 200.59 Heavy silvery liquid metallic element, belongs to the zinc group Used in thermometers, barometers and other scientific apparatus. Less reactive than zinc and cadmium, does not displace hydrogen from acids. Forms a number of complexes and organomercury compounds.
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