mercury

\ˈməː.kjʊ.ɹi\

/\ˈməː.kjʊ.ɹi\/ noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“mercury” is a moderately-common French word, ranked #27,877 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#27,877
frequency rank, French
7
letters
11
tracked misspellings
4
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - (nomenclature UICPA) Mercure (l’élément chimique Hg).

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

mercury vs mercy
71% similar
mercury vs merry
71% similar
mercury vs Mercer
57% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for mercury
PropertyValue
Headwordmercury
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\ˈməː.kjʊ.ɹi\
Letters7
Frequency rank#27,877
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs4
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “mercury” sits in French frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). mercury lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for mercury is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \ˈməː.kjʊ.ɹi\. Corpus data places it at rank #27,877 in overall French word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 6 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for mercury, with forms such as "emrcury", "mecrury", and "merccury". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 4 confusable-pair relationships, "mercy", "merry", "Mercer", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct French form is mercury, spelled M-E-R-C-U-R-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    (nomenclature UICPA) Mercure (l’élément chimique Hg).
  2. 2
    Température ambiante.
  3. 3
    Principe des métaux, mercure.
  4. 4
    Mercuriale annuelle.
  5. 5
    Épinard sauvage, chénopode bon-Henri.
  6. 6
    Sumac grimpant.

Synonyms

hydrargyrumquicksilverazothannual mercuryFrench mercuryallgoodEnglish mercuryGood King HenryLincolnshire spinachmarkeryperennial goosefootpoor man’s asparaguspoor-man’s asparaguspoison ivypoison oak

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: emrcury,mecrury,merccury,mercruy,mercurry,mercuryy,mercuyr,merrcury,merucry,mmercury,mrecury

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of mercury - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

emrcury2mecrury2merccury1mercruy2mercurry1mercuryy1mercuyr2merrcury1
Edit distance from "mercury"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "mercury"?
"mercury" is spelled M-E-R-C-U-R-Y. The IPA pronunciation is \ˈməː.kjʊ.ɹi\.
What does "mercury" mean?
As a noun, "mercury" means: (nomenclature UICPA) Mercure (l’élément chimique Hg).
What words are commonly confused with "mercury"?
"mercury" is commonly confused with "mercy", "merry", "Mercer". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "mercury"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "mercury" is \ˈməː.kjʊ.ɹi\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "mercury" come from?
"mercury" is a French word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “mercury”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct French spelling is M-E-R-C-U-R-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \ˈməː.kjʊ.ɹi\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “mercy” - see the side-by-side comparison. mercury vs mercy
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list