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MERCURY
Definition of MERCURY
noun
Senses relating to the metal. A silvery-coloured, metallic chemical element with the atomic number 80; it is liquid at room temperature, and toxic.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
The noun is derived from Middle English mercurie (“metallic chemical element, quicksilver; a plant, probably goosefoot (genus Chenopodium); (possibly) dog’s mercury (Mercurialis perennis); etc.”), borrowed from Late Latin mercurius (“metallic chemical element, quicksilver”), Latin Mercurius (“Mercury, the Roman god of commerce, communication, etc.; the planet Mercury; etc.”), possibly from merc-, a stem of merx (“goods, wares; merchandise”); further etymology uncertain, possibly: The suffix -urius is also thought to be from Etruscan. Noun sense 1 (“metallic chemical element”) is from the association in medieval alchemy of the seven known metals—gold, silver, quicksilver, copper, iron, tin, and lead—with the Sun, the Moon, and the planets Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. An analogy was probably also drawn between the element being liquid at room temperature, and the Roman god Mercury’s attribute of swiftness. Noun sense 2 (“senses relating to plants”) is derived from mercurial (“(obsolete) any of the plants now known as mercury”, noun), from Middle English mercurial (“a plant, probably goosefoot (genus Chenopodium); (possibly) dog’s mercury (Mercurialis perennis)”, noun) from Anglo-Norman mercurial, Old French mercurial, or directly from their etymon Latin mercuriālis (“a plant, probably annual mercury (Mercurialis annua)”), short for herba mercuriālis (“(probably) annual mercury”, literally “herb or plant of the god Mercury”). Mercuriālis (“pertaining to the Roman god Mercury”, adjective) is derived from Mercurius (“the Roman god Mercury”) (see above) + -ālis (suffix forming adjectives of relationship from nouns). Noun sense 2.2.2.1 (“Blitum bonus-henricus”) is from the fact that this plant was often confused with annual mercury (noun sense 2.1). The verb is derived from the noun.
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
OUTLIER scores every word on how unusual it is, and that number is not published. Working it out at the board is the game.
MERCURY in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 1 board so far.
It first turned up on Day 90, 18 August 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 12 days.
First ever to find it
on Day 90, 18 August 2026 - before anyone else in Outlier's history. See the Pioneers
Built from these letters
MERCURY starts with M and ends with Y. Sorted, its letters read CEMRRUY - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. R appears more than once.
Words that start MERCUR
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Could you have found MERCURY?
OUTLIER is a daily word game. One grid, the same grid for everybody, and the words nobody else spots are the ones that pay. This word was on Day 90 - and most players walked straight past it.
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