quicksilver

/ˈkwɪkˌsɪlvɚ/

Etymology

From Middle English quyk silver, quyksilver, quikselver, from Old English cwicseolfor (“quicksilver”, literally “living silver”) (see Latin argentum vīvum) from its ability to move. See quick in the sense of "living". Cognate with Dutch kwikzilver, German Low German Quicksülver, German Quecksilber, Danish kviksølv, Norwegian Bokmål kvikksølv, Swedish kvicksilver. By surface analysis, quick (“living”) + silver.

quicksilver means Unpredictable, erratic, or fickle; mercurial. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 76 out of 100.

Why this word is great

QUICKSILVER — [Adjective] Unpredictable, erratic, or fickle; mercurial. From Middle English quyksilver, from Old English cwicseolfor (literally "living silver"), from cwic ("living, quick") + seolfor ("silver"), referring to the metal mercury's fluid, mobile nature. Unlike "volatile," which implies a latent, explosive energy, or "capricious," which suggests change by whimsical decree, quicksilver describes a liquidity of essence, a brilliant instability that flows and darts. It is the bead of mercury skittering from a broken thermometer, the flicker of thought just before it is grasped, the dance of light on a wind-rippled pond—the animate spirit in the inanimate, forever defined by its refusal to be contained.

adj

Unpredictable, erratic, or fickle; mercurial.“Summer is not the most auspicious season for theater in New York. Aside from a few certifiable Broadway hits, it is, in fact, a rather quicksilver commodity.”

noun

The metal mercury.
An amalgam of mercury and tin applied to the backs of mirrors; quicksilvering.

verb

To overlay with quicksilver.
To treat with quicksilver.