Silver (Sil-ver) n: A precious metal with the highest thermal and electrical conductivity of all metals used in a variety of purities in the production of jewelry, tableware, photography and coins.

In its purest form this lustrous metal, like gold, is very soft. For this reason Silver is usually alloyed with other metals such as copper, nickel and zinc to make it more robust: .

• Fine Silver, is 99.9% Silver.
• Thai Karen Hill-Tribe Silver is 99.5% Silver.
• Britannia Silver is 95.84% Silver with up to 4.16% copper.
• Mexican Silver is usually 95% Silver and 5% Copper.
• Sterling Silver is 92.5% Silver, with copper making up the remaining 7.5%.

Silver is a chemical element denoted on the periodic table by the symbol ‘Ag’. In etymological terms this symbol is derived from the early Proto-Indo-European language root word ‘Arg'- meaning ‘White’, or ‘To shine’. This root word is found in ancient:
• Greek – Argos.
• Latin – Argentums.
• Celtic – Argent.
• Sanskrit – Arjuna.

The only languages that lacked this root are the Germano-Balto-Slavic languages that used another stem for Silver thought to be based on a river in Lycia, modern day Turkey:
• Slavic – Sirebro.
• Baltic – Silabr.
• Germanic – Silbr.

The Germanic, or Teutonic, word is the root of the Anglo-Saxon branch word of ‘Silver’ used today.