mercurio

mercury

noun mer-KOO-ryoh Rare

Origin: Latin Mercurius, the Roman messenger god, also associated with the planet.

Also means

Mercury (the planet)

Usage Note

Mercurio refers both to the chemical element (quicksilver, symbol Hg) and to the planet Mercury. As an element it is always used with the definite article il mercurio. Note that il termometro a mercurio (mercury thermometer) is now largely banned in Italy.

Examples

"Il mercurio è un metallo liquido a temperatura ambiente."

Natural Translation

Mercury is a liquid metal at room temperature.

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