mercury vs silver

mercury

noun
  • A silvery-colored, toxic, metallic chemical element, liquid at room temperature, with atomic number 80 and symbol Hg. 

  • One of the elemental principles formerly thought to be present in all metals. 

  • Any plant of any species of the genus and the genus Mercurialis. 

  • The poison oak or poison ivy. 

  • An annual plant, annual mercury (Mercurialis annua), formerly grown for its medicinal properties; French mercury, herb mercury. 

  • Ambient pressure or temperature (from the use of mercury in barometers and thermometers). 

  • A similar edible plant (Blitum bonus-henricus), otherwise known as English mercury or allgood. 

silver

noun
  • A lustrous, white, metallic element, atomic number 47, atomic weight 107.87, symbol Ag. 

  • Coins made from silver or any similar white metal. 

  • a silver medal 

  • Cutlery and other eating utensils, whether silver or made from some other white metal. 

  • Any items made from silver or any other white metal. 

  • A shiny gray color. 

  • Anything resembling silver; something shiny and white. 

verb
  • To polish like silver; to impart a brightness to, like that of silver. 

  • To acquire a silvery colour. 

  • To cover with silver, or with a silvery metal. 

  • To make hoary, or white, like silver. 

adj
  • Having the clear, musical tone of silver; soft and clear in sound. 

  • Premium, but inferior to gold. 

  • Having a color like silver: a shiny gray. 

  • Made from silver. 

  • Denoting the twenty-fifth anniversary, especially of a wedding. 

  • Made from another white metal. 

How often have the words mercury and silver occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )