水銀

Compare the etymologies of Latin hydrargyrus, English quicksilver.

水銀

1. mercury; quicksilver

   • 始皇初即位，穿治酈山，及并天下，天下徒送詣七十餘萬人，穿三泉，下銅而致槨，宮觀百官奇器珍怪徙臧滿之。令匠作機弩矢，有所穿近者輒射之。以水銀為百川江河大海，機相灌輸，上具天文，下具地理。以人魚膏為燭，度不滅者久之。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     始皇初即位，穿治郦山，及并天下，天下徒送诣七十余万人，穿三泉，下铜而致椁，宫观百官奇器珍怪徙臧满之。令匠作机弩矢，有所穿近者辄射之。以水银为百川江河大海，机相灌输，上具天文，下具地理。以人鱼膏为烛，度不灭者久之。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: The Records of the Grand Historian, by Sima Qian, circa 91 BCE

     Shǐhuáng chū jíwèi, chuān zhì Lìshān, jí bìng tiānxià, tiānxià tú sòngyì qī shí yú wàn rén, chuān sān quán, xià tóng ér zhì guǒ, gōngguān bǎiguān qíqì zhēnguài xǐ zāng mǎn zhī. Lìng jiàng zuò jīnǔ shǐ, yǒu suǒ chuān jìn zhě zhé shè zhī. Yǐ shuǐyín wèi bǎichuān jiānghé dàhǎi, jī xiàng guànshū, shàng jù tiānwén, xià jù dìlǐ. Yǐ rényúgāo wèi zhú, dù bù miè zhě jiǔ zhī. [Pinyin]

     When the First Emperor ascended the throne, the digging and preparation at Mount Li began. After he unified his empire, he sent 700,000 people to work. They dug down deep to underground springs, pouring copper to place the outer casing of the coffin. Palaces and viewing towers housing a hundred officials were built and filled with treasures and rare artefacts. Workmen were instructed to make automatic crossbows primed to shoot at intruders. Mercury was used to create a hundred rivers and the ocean, and set to flow mechanically. Above, the heaven is depicted, below, the geographical features of the land. Candles were made of "mermaid"'s fat whose light would not extinguish for a long time.

2. (poetic) moon
3. (poetic) glob; drop of water

• (mercury): (scientific) 汞 (gǒng)

From Middle Chinese compound 水銀 (sywij^X ngin, literally “water (i.e. liquid) silver”). Compare modern Mandarin 水銀／水银 (shuǐyín).

• On’yomi: Kan’on
  • (Tokyo) すいぎん [sùígíń] (Heiban – [0])[1]
  • IPA^(key): [sɨᵝiɡʲĩɴ]

水銀 (hiragana すいぎん, rōmaji suigin)

1. (chemistry) mercury; quicksilver

From Old Japanese. Compound of 水 (mizu, “water”) +‎ 銀 (kane, “metal, silver”). The kane changes to gane as an instance of rendaku (連濁). Appears in the Wamyō Ruijushō Japanese dictionary of 938 CE as mizukane, suggesting that the shift to rendaku is more recent.[1][2]

Obsolete in modern Japanese.

• Kun’yomi
  • IPA^(key): [mʲizɨᵝɡa̠ne̞]

• 汞 (rare)

水銀 (hiragana みずがね, rōmaji mizugane, historical hiragana みづがね)

1. (chemistry, obsolete) mercury; quicksilver

The mizugane reading is largely obsolete in modern Japanese; suigin is the standard reading.

水銀 • (sueun) (hangeul 수은)

1. Hanja form^? of 수은 (“mercury”).

水銀

1. Hán tự form of thủy ngân (“mercury”).