Where does “quicksilver” come from?
Quicksilver comes from Middle English quikselver, from Old English cwicseolfor, where cwic means "living" or "lively" and seolfor means "silver," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European gʷih₃wós meaning "living."
quicksilver (English): The metal mercury; An amalgam of mercury and tin...
Definitions
- The metal mercury; An amalgam of mercury and tin...
Ancestry of “quicksilver”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | quyk silver | quicksilver, mercury |
| 2 | Old English | cwicseolfor | mercury |
| 3 | Old English | cwic | living, live, alive; mentally agile; intelligent,... |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | *kwiku | alive |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | kwikwaz | alive; lively, quick |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷih₃wós | alive, living |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷeih₃w- | to live |