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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

silver.

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

6 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈsɪl.və/Received-Pronunciation/ˈsɪl.vɚ/General-American
  1. A lustrous, white, metallic element, atomic number 47, atomic weight 107.87, symbol Ag.

    uncountable
  2. Coins made from silver or any similar white metal.

    collective · countable · uncountable
  3. Cutlery and other eating utensils, whether silver or made from some other white metal.

    collective · countable · uncountable
  4. Any items made from silver or any other white metal.

    collective · countable · uncountable
  5. A shiny gray color.

    uncountable
  6. A silver medal.

    countable
  7. Anything resembling silver; something shiny and white.

    countable · uncountable
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree substratebor.? Proto-Germanic *silubrą Proto-West Germanic *silubr Old English seolfor Middle English silver English silver Inherited from Middle English silver, selver, sulver, from Old English seolfor, from Proto-West Germanic *silubr, from Proto-Germanic *silubrą (“silver”), of uncertain origin. cognates and etymology discussion Cognate with Scots siller (“silver”), Saterland Frisian Säälwer (“silver”), West Frisian sulver (“silver”), Dutch zilver (“silver”), German Low German Silver, Sülver (“silver”), German Silber (“silver”), Swedish silver (“silver”), Icelandic silfur (“silver”). The Germanic word has parallels in Baltic and Slavic (Old Church Slavonic сьрєбро (sĭrebro), Lithuanian sidabras), Celtic (Celtiberian silaPur-), and outside Indo-European, in Basque zilar and Proto-Berber *a-ẓrəf, but the ultimate origin of the word is unknown. Adjective sense 4 (“denoting a twenty-fifth anniversary”) generalized from silver wedding, itself a calque of German Silberhochzeit.

adj/ˈsɪl.və/Received-Pronunciation/ˈsɪl.vɚ/General-American
  1. Made from silver.

  2. Made from another white metal.

  3. Having a color like silver: a shiny gray.

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

  5. Premium, but inferior to gold.

  6. Pertaining or relating to elderly persons.

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

    a silver-voiced young girl
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree substratebor.? Proto-Germanic *silubrą Proto-West Germanic *silubr Old English seolfor Middle English silver English silver Inherited from Middle English silver, selver, sulver, from Old English seolfor, from Proto-West Germanic *silubr, from Proto-Germanic *silubrą (“silver”), of uncertain origin. cognates and etymology discussion Cognate with Scots siller (“silver”), Saterland Frisian Säälwer (“silver”), West Frisian sulver (“silver”), Dutch zilver (“silver”), German Low German Silver, Sülver (“silver”), German Silber (“silver”), Swedish silver (“silver”), Icelandic silfur (“silver”). The Germanic word has parallels in Baltic and Slavic (Old Church Slavonic сьрєбро (sĭrebro), Lithuanian sidabras), Celtic (Celtiberian silaPur-), and outside Indo-European, in Basque zilar and Proto-Berber *a-ẓrəf, but the ultimate origin of the word is unknown. Adjective sense 4 (“denoting a twenty-fifth anniversary”) generalized from silver wedding, itself a calque of German Silberhochzeit.

verb/ˈsɪl.və/Received-Pronunciation/ˈsɪl.vɚ/General-American
  1. To acquire a silvery colour.

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

    to silver a pin; to silver a glass mirror plate with an amalgam of tin and mercury
  3. To polish like silver; to impart a brightness to, like that of silver.

  4. To make hoary, or white, like silver.

Where this word comes from

Etymology tree substratebor.? Proto-Germanic *silubrą Proto-West Germanic *silubr Old English seolfor Middle English silver English silver Inherited from Middle English silver, selver, sulver, from Old English seolfor, from Proto-West Germanic *silubr, from Proto-Germanic *silubrą (“silver”), of uncertain origin. cognates and etymology discussion Cognate with Scots siller (“silver”), Saterland Frisian Säälwer (“silver”), West Frisian sulver (“silver”), Dutch zilver (“silver”), German Low German Silver, Sülver (“silver”), German Silber (“silver”), Swedish silver (“silver”), Icelandic silfur (“silver”). The Germanic word has parallels in Baltic and Slavic (Old Church Slavonic сьрєбро (sĭrebro), Lithuanian sidabras), Celtic (Celtiberian silaPur-), and outside Indo-European, in Basque zilar and Proto-Berber *a-ẓrəf, but the ultimate origin of the word is unknown. Adjective sense 4 (“denoting a twenty-fifth anniversary”) generalized from silver wedding, itself a calque of German Silberhochzeit.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.