silver
pronunciation
How to pronounce silver in British English:
UK [ˈsɪlvə(r)]
How to pronounce silver in American English:
US [ˈsɪlvər]
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- Noun:
- a soft white precious univalent metallic element having the highest electrical and thermal conductivity of any metal; occurs in argentite and in free form; used in coins and jewelry and tableware and photography
- coins made of silver
- a light shade of gray
- silverware eating utensils
- a medal made of silver (or having the appearance of silver) that is usually awarded for winning second place in a competition
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- Verb:
- coat with a layer of silver or a silver amalgam
- make silver in color
- turn silver
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- Adjective:
- made from or largely consisting of silver
- having the white lustrous sheen of silver
- lustrous gray; covered with or tinged with the color of silver
- expressing yourself readily, clearly, effectively
Word Origin
- silver
- silver: [OE] The word silver probably originated in Asia Minor. Its unidentified source word was borrowed into prehistoric Germanic as *silubr-, which has evolved into German silber, Dutch zilver, Danish sølf, and English and Swedish silver. Borrowing of the same ancestral form into the Balto-Slavic languages produced Russian serebro, Polish and Serbo-Croat srebro, Lithuanian sidabras, and Latvian sidrabs.
- silver (n.)
- Old English seolfor, Mercian sylfur "silver; money," from Proto-Germanic *silubra- (cognates: Old Saxon silvbar, Old Frisian selover, Old Norse silfr, Middle Dutch silver, Dutch zilver, Old High German silabar, German silber "silver; money," Gothic silubr "silver"), from a common Germanic/Balto-Slavic term (cognates: Old Church Slavonic s(u)rebo, Russian serebro, Polish srebro, Lithuanian sidabras "silver") of uncertain relationship and origin. According to Klein's sources, possibly from a language of Asia Minor, perhaps from Akkadian sarpu "silver," literally "refined silver," related to sarapu "to refine, smelt." As an adjective from late Old English (cognates: silvern). As a color name from late 15c. Of voices, words, etc., from 1520s in reference to the metal's pleasing resonance; silver-tongued is from 1590s. The silver age (1560s) was a phrase used by Greek and Roman poets. Chemical abbreviation Ag is from Latin argentum "silver," from the usual PIE word for the metal (see argent), which is missing in Germanic.
- silver (v.)
- "to cover or plate with silver," mid-15c., from silver (n.). Meaning "to tinge with gray" (of hair) is from c. 1600. Related: Silvered; silvering.
Example
- 1. Hadn 't twined ores of silver and lead been found ?
- 2. A large black and silver volume caught his eye .
- 3. Helping drive demand is that silver is easier to buy .
- 4. Wang hao won silver at the beijing olympics .
- 5. It was there that he began using silver .