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n. See mercury. adj. Unpredictable; mercurial: "a quicksilver character, cool and willful at one moment, utterly fragile the next" (Sven Birkerts). [Middle English, from Old English cwicseolfor, living silver (translation of Latin argentum vīvum) : cwic, cwicu, alive; see gwei- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots + seolfor, silver; see SILVER.] |
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