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Mercury

Pronunciation: /ˈməːkjʊri/

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Definition of Mercury
  • 1 Roman Mythology the Roman god of eloquence, skill, trading, and thieving, herald and messenger of the gods, who was identified with Hermes.
    [from Latin Mercurius, from merx, merc- 'merchandise']
  • used in names of newspapers and journals:the Leicester Mercury
  • 2 Astronomy a small planet that is the closest to the sun in the solar system, sometimes visible to the naked eye just after sunset.
  • Mercury orbits within the orbit of Venus at an average distance of 57.9 million km from the sun. With a diameter of 4,878 km it is only a third larger than earth’s moon, which it resembles in having a heavily cratered surface. Its ‘day’ of 58.65 days is precisely two thirds the length of its ‘year’ of 87.97 days. Daytime temperatures average 170°C. There is no atmosphere and the planet has no satellites

Derivatives

Mercurian

adjective

Mercury in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of Mercury in the US English dictionary