Where does “quyk silver” come from?
quyk silver (Middle English) comes from Old English cwicseolfor, from Old English cwic, from Proto-West Germanic *kwiku, from Proto-Germanic kwikwaz, from Proto-Indo-European gʷih₃wós, from Proto-Indo-European gʷeih₃w- — to live.
quyk silver (Middle English): quicksilver, mercury
Ancestry of “quyk silver”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Old English | cwicseolfor | mercury |
| 2 | Old English | cwic | living, live, alive; mentally agile; intelligent,... |
| 3 | Proto-West Germanic | *kwiku | — |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | kwikwaz | alive; lively, quick |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷih₃wós | alive, living |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷeih₃w- | to live |
Words derived from “quyk silver”