sil⋅ver
[sil-ver]
| 1. | Chemistry. a white, ductile metallic element, used for making mirrors, coins, ornaments, table utensils, photographic chemicals, conductors, etc. Symbol: Ag; atomic weight: 107.870; atomic number: 47; specific gravity: 10.5 at 20°C. |
| 2. | coin made of this metal; specie; money: a handful of silver. |
| 3. | this metal as a commodity or considered as a currency standard. |
| 4. | table articles made of or plated with silver, including flatware and hollowware. |
| 5. | any flatware: The kitchen silver is of stainless steel. |
| 6. | something resembling this metal in color, luster, etc. |
| 7. | a lustrous grayish white or whitish gray, or the color of the metal: the silver of the leaves. |
| 8. | any of the silver halides used for photographic purposes, as silver bromide, silver chloride, or silver iodide. |
| 9. | silver medal. |
| 10. | consisting of, made of, or plated with silver. |
| 11. | of or pertaining to silver. |
| 12. | producing or yielding silver. |
| 13. | resembling silver; silvery: the silver moon. |
| 14. | clear and soft: silver sounds. |
| 15. | eloquent; persuasive: a silver tongue. |
| 16. | urging the use of silver as a currency standard: silver economists. |
| 17. | indicating the twenty-fifth event of a series, as a wedding anniversary. |
| 18. | having the color silver: a silver dress. |
| 19. | to coat with silver or some silverlike substance. |
| 20. | to give a silvery color to. |
| 21. | to become a silvery color. |
bef. 900; (n. and adj.) ME silver(e), selver(e), selfer, OE siolfor (orig. n.); c. G Silber, ON silfr, Goth silubr, akin to Serbo-Croatian srèbro, Russ serebró, Lith sidãbras; (v.) late ME silveren, deriv. of the n.

Related forms:
silver medal
| a medal, traditionally of silver or silver in color, awarded to a person or team finishing second in a competition, meet, or tournament. |
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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sil·ver (sĭl'vər) n.
v. tr.
To become silvery. [Middle English, from Old English siolfor, seolfor, probably ultimately from Akkadian ṣarpu, refined silver, verbal adj. of ṣarāpu, to smelt, refine; see ṣrp in Semitic roots.] |
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Silver
Sil"ver\, n. [OE. silver, selver, seolver, AS. seolfor, siolfur, siolufr, silofr, sylofr; akin to OS. silubar, OFries. selover, D. zilver, LG. sulver, OHG. silabar, silbar, G. silber, Icel. silfr, Sw. silfver, Dan. s["o]lv, Goth. silubr, Russ. serebro, Lith. sidabras; of unknown origin.]1. (Chem.) A soft white metallic element, sonorous, ductile, very malleable, and capable of a high degree of polish. It is found native, and also combined with sulphur, arsenic, antimony, chlorine, etc., in the minerals argentite, proustite, pyrargyrite, ceragyrite, etc. Silver is one of the "noble" metals, so-called, not being easily oxidized, and is used for coin, jewelry, plate, and a great variety of articles. Symbol Ag (Argentum). Atomic weight 107.7. Specific gravity 10.5. Note: Silver was known under the name of luna to the ancients and also to the alchemists. Some of its compounds, as the halogen salts, are remarkable for the effect of light upon them, and are used in photography. 2. Coin made of silver; silver money. 3. Anything having the luster or appearance of silver. 4. The color of silver. Note: Silver is used in the formation of many compounds of obvious meaning; as, silver-armed, silver-bright, silver-buskined, silver-coated, silver-footed, silver-haired, silver-headed, silver-mantled, silver-plated, silver-slippered, silver-sounding, silver-studded, silver-tongued, silver-white. See Silver, a. Black silver (Min.), stephanite; -- called also brittle silver ore, or brittle silver glance. Fulminating silver. (Chem.) (a) A black crystalline substance, Ag2O.(NH3)2, obtained by dissolving silver oxide in aqua ammonia. When dry it explodes violently on the slightest percussion. (b) Silver fulminate, a white crystalline substance, Ag2C2N2O2, obtained by adding alcohol to a solution of silver nitrate. When dry it is violently explosive. German silver. (Chem.) See under German. Gray silver. (Min.) See Freieslebenite. Horn silver. (Min.) See Cerargyrite. King's silver. (O. Eng. Law) See Postfine. Red silver, or Ruby silver. (Min.) See Proustite, and Pyrargyrite. Silver beater, one who beats silver into silver leaf or silver foil. Silver glance, or Vitreous silver. (Min.) See Argentine.Silver
Sil"ver\, a. 1. Of or pertaining to silver; made of silver; as, silver leaf; a silver cup. 2. Resembling silver. Specifically: (a) Bright; resplendent; white. "Silver hair." --Shak. Others, on silver lakes and rivers, bathed Their downy breast. --Milton. (b) Precious; costly. (c) Giving a clear, ringing sound soft and clear. "Silver voices." --Spenser. (d) Sweet; gentle; peaceful. "Silver slumber." --Spenser. American silver fir (Bot.), the balsam fir. See under Balsam. Silver age (Roman Lit.), the latter part (a. d. 14-180) of the classical period of Latinity, -- the time of writers of inferior purity of language, as compared with those of the previous golden age, so-called. Silver-bell tree (Bot.), an American shrub or small tree (Halesia tetraptera) with white bell-shaped flowers in clusters or racemes; the snowdrop tree. Silver bush (Bot.), a shrubby leguminous plant (Anthyllis Barba-Jovis) of Southern Europe, having silvery foliage. Silver chub (Zo["o]l.), the fallfish. Silver eel. (Zo["o]l.) (a) The cutlass fish. (b) A pale variety of the common eel. Silver fir (Bot.), a coniferous tree (Abies pectinata) found in mountainous districts in the middle and south of Europe, where it often grows to the height of 100 or 150 feet. It yields Burgundy pitch and Strasburg turpentine. Silver foil, foil made of silver. Silver fox (Zo["o]l.), a variety of the common fox (Vulpes vulpes, variety argenteus) found in the northern parts of Asia, Europe, and America. Its fur is nearly black, with silvery tips, and is highly valued. Called also black fox, and silver-gray fox. Silver gar. (Zo["o]l.) See Billfish (a) . Silver grain (Bot.), the lines or narrow plates of cellular tissue which pass from the pith to the bark of an exogenous stem; the medullary rays. In the wood of the oak they are much larger than in that of the beech, maple, pine, cherry, etc. Silver grebe (Zo["o]l.), the red-throated diver. See Illust. under Diver. Silver hake (Zo["o]l.), the American whiting. Silver leaf, leaves or sheets made of silver beaten very thin. Silver lunge (Zo["o]l.), the namaycush. Silver moonfish.(Zo["o]l.) See Moonfish (b) . Silver moth (Zo["o]l.), a lepisma. Silver owl (Zo["o]l.), the barn owl. Silver perch (Zo["o]l.), the mademoiselle, 2. Silver pheasant (Zo["o]l.), any one of several species of beautiful crested and long-tailed Asiatic pheasants, of the genus Euplocamus. They have the tail and more or less of the upper parts silvery white. The most common species (E. nychtemerus) is native of China. Silver plate, domestic utensils made of silver. Silver plover (Zo["o]l.), the knot. Silver salmon (Zo["o]l.), a salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) native of both coasts of the North Pacific. It ascends all the American rivers as far south as the Sacramento. Called also kisutch, whitefish, and white salmon. Silver shell (Zo["o]l.), a marine bivalve of the genus Anomia. See Anomia. Silver steel, an alloy of steel with a very small proportion of silver. Silver stick, a title given to the title field officer of the Life Guards when on duty at the palace. [Eng.] --Thackeray. Silver tree (Bot.), a South African tree (Leucadendron argenteum) with long, silvery, silky leaves. Silver trout, (Zo["o]l.) See Trout. Silver wedding. See under Wedding. Silver whiting (Zo["o]l.), a marine sci[ae]noid food fish (Menticirrus littoralis) native of the Southern United States; -- called also surf whiting. Silver witch (Zo["o]l.), A lepisma.Silver
Sil"ver\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Silvered; p. pr. & vb. n. Silvering.]1. To cover with silver; to give a silvery appearance to by applying a metal of a silvery color; as, to silver a pin; to silver a glass mirror plate with an amalgam of tin and mercury. 2. To polish like silver; to impart a brightness to, like that of silver. And smiling calmness silvered o'er the deep. --Pope. 3. To make hoary, or white, like silver. His head was silvered o'er with age. --Gay.Silver
Sil"ver\, v. i. To acquire a silvery color. [R.] The eastern sky began to silver and shine. --L. Wallace.Cite This Source
silver
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Silver
An element commonly used in jewelry, coins, electronics, and photography. Silver has the highest electrical conductivity of any metal.
Investopedia Commentary
Silver is considered to be a precious metal.
See also: Bullion, Iridium, Palladium, Platinum, Precious Metal
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Main Entry: sil·ver
Pronunciation: 'sil-v&r
Function: noun
: a white metallic element that is sonorous, ductile, very malleable, capable of a highdegree of polish, and chiefly monovalent in compounds, and that has the highest thermal and electric conductivity of any substance —symbol Ag; —see
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silver sil·ver (sĭl'vər)
n.
Symbol Ag
A lustrous ductile malleable metallic element having the highest thermal and electrical conductivity of the metals and used in dental alloys. Atomic number 47; atomic weight 107.868; melting point 961.8°C; boiling point 2,162°C; specific gravity 10.50; valence 1, 2.
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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| silver (sĭl'vər) Pronunciation Key
Symbol Ag A soft, shiny, white metallic element that is found in many ores, especially together with copper, lead, and zinc. It conducts heat and electricity better than any other metal. Silver is used in photography and in making electrical circuits and conductors. Atomic number 47; atomic weight 107.868; melting point 960.8°C; boiling point 2,212°C; specific gravity 10.50; valence 1, 2. See also sterling silver. See Periodic Table. See Note at element. |
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Silver
used for a great variety of purposes, as may be judged from the frequent references to it in Scripture. It first appears in commerce in Gen. 13:2; 23:15, 16. It was largely employed for making vessels for the sanctuary in the wilderness (Ex. 26:19; 27:17; Num. 7:13, 19; 10:2). There is no record of its having been found in Syria or Palestine. It was brought in large quantities by foreign merchants from abroad, from Spain and India and other countries probably.
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silver
In addition to the idiom beginning with silver, also see born with a silver spoon; cross someone's palm with silver; hand to on a silver platter.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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