English
quicksilver
Quicksilver comes from Middle English quyk silver ‘quicksilver, mercury’, from Old English cwic ‘alive’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʷeyh₃- ‘to live’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷeyh₃-1‘to live’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷih₃wós1‘alive’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*kwikwaz1‘alive’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*kwiku1‘alive’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150cwic2‘alive’
- Old Englishc. 450–1150cwicseolfor2literally ‘living silver’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500quyk silver2‘quicksilver, mercury’
- Englishearliest quotation 1978quicksilver2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Old English cwic
- 2 Wiktionary, English quicksilver
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1978, Kevin Warren, A Flawless Production: “Summer is not the most auspicious season for theater…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷeyh₃-Wiktionary, Old English cwic‘to live’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷih₃wósWiktionary, Old English cwic‘alive’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*kwikwazWiktionary, Old English cwic‘alive’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*kwikuWiktionary, Old English cwic‘alive’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150cwicWiktionary, English quicksilver‘alive’
- Old Englishc. 450–1150cwicseolforWiktionary, English quicksilverliterally ‘living silver’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500quyk silverWiktionary, English quicksilver‘quicksilver, mercury’
- Englishearliest quotation 1978quicksilverWiktionary, English quicksilver. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1978, Kevin Warren, A Flawless Production: “Summer is not the most auspicious season for theater…”
The story
From Middle English quyk silver, quyksilver, quikselver, from Old English cwicseolfor (“quicksilver”, literally “living silver”) (see Latin argentum vīvum) from its ability to move.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *gʷeyh₃- ‘to live’
biology, kidney, vitamin, viable, hygiene, revive, vitality, zodiac, anaerobic, biogenesis, wyvern, 59 more
through Proto-Indo-European *gʷih₃wós ‘alive’
vital, vivid, vive, vivacious, convivial, vivacity, 32 more
through Proto-Germanic *kwikwaz ‘alive’
through Old English cwic ‘alive’
Today it means
noun The metal mercury.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “quicksilver”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Old English cwic. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *gʷeyh₃- / quicksilver