Elementymology & Elements Multidict

memory peg	Reflective precious metal which easily tarnishes upon exposure to sulfur gases or halogens melting point 962 °C; 1763 °F boiling point 2212 °C; 4014 °F density 10.50 g/cc; 655.49 pounds/cubic foot
Known to the ancients
Argentum, Latin word for this element

Silver is known by the mankind since Pre-History, and its discovery is estimated happened to shortly after that of copper and gold. The oldest reference to the element appears in the book of Genesis.

"And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold." (Gen. 13:2)

The noble metals, gold and silver, are found in the native state, and as is well known, gold and silver were used to make jewelry and sheet metal due to the great ductility and lustre of the pure metals. Its malleability and ductility make it ideal for ornamental purposes. It was also used for paying debts, in personal and religious places decoration and in utensils of the wealthiest houses.

Some mineral scums in old mines of the Near-East and in some islands of the Aegean sea seem to reveal that by 5000 b.C. a method was already known to separate silver from lead. Early gold and silver ornaments from the Indian subcontinent are found from Indus Valley sites such as Mohenjodaro (ca 3000 BC).

The monetary use of silver may well be as old as that of gold but the abundance of the native metal was probably far less, so that comparable supplies were not available until a method of winning the metal from its ores had been discovered. It appears, however, that by perhaps 3000 BC a form of cupellation was in operation in Asia Minor and its use gradually spread, so that silver coinage was of crucial economic importance to all subsequent classical Mediterranean civilizations.

In astrology alchemy the seven heavenly bodies known to the ancients were associated with seven metals also known in antiquity:

Sun (Sol)	Gold (Aurum)
Mercury (Mercurius)	Mercury (Hydrargyrum)
Venus	Copper (Cuprum)
Moon (Luna)	Silver (Argentum)
Mars	Iron (Ferrum)
Jupiter	Tin (Stannum)
Saturn	Lead (Plumbum)

The long history of Silver is reflected in the many different words for this metal. See the list of names to the left and in the overview of Silver in over 100 languages (click here).

We can identify at least seven different roots.

It is the only element after which a country is named (Argentina > argentum).

 

• Mary Elvira Weeks, Discovery of the Elements, comp. rev. by Henry M. Leicester (Easton, Pa.: Journal of Chemical Education, 1968), pp. 13-18.
• Brian Jackson, An element of surprise: silver. The Edinburgh Geologist - Issue no 38 - Spring 2002 (on-line).
• S. Srinivasan and S. Ranganathan, Metallurgical Heritage of India (on-line).
• James B. Calvert, "Copper, Silver and Gold" 2002 (on-line).

From Andis Kaulins, Indo-European Afro-Asiatic Words for Metals - Copper Lead Tin Iron Bronze Gold Amber:
Sumerian KUK for "silver" is related to Latvian "KUKURS" used to describe "FLAX, SILVER BUDS". KUK- in most Latvian terms means "clump, bud, piece".