means A substance that flows and takes the shape of its container while keeping a fixed volume — the state of matter between solid and gas.

from From Latin liquidus, 'flowing, moist, clear,' built on the verb liquēre, 'to be fluid.' The same root drips into 'liquor' (originally just any liquid) and 'liquefy,' and even into 'liquidate' — the idea of turning assets into ready, flowing cash. English borrowed it via Old French in the late Middle Ages, when it described both wet things and, by analogy, smooth and clear sounds in speech (the 'liquid' consonants l and r).