mercurial

Signification (Anglais)

Adj

1. (comparable) Having a lively or volatile character; animated, changeable, quick-witted.
2. (not-comparable) Pertaining to the astrological influence of the planet Mercury; having the characteristics of a person under such influence (see adjective sense 1).
3. (not-comparable) Pertaining to the planet Mercury.
4. (not-comparable) Of or pertaining to the element mercury or quicksilver; containing mercury.
5. (not-comparable) Caused by the action of mercury or a mercury compound.
6. (Roman, not-comparable) Pertaining to Mercury, the Roman god of, among other things, commerce, financial gain, communication, and thieves and trickery; hence (comparable), money-making; crafty.

Noun

1. (obsolete) Any of the plants known as mercury, especially the annual mercury or French mercury (Mercurialis annua).
2. A person born under the influence of the planet Mercury; hence, a person having an eloquent, quickwitted, furtive, or volatile character.
3. A chemical compound containing mercury.
4. (historical) A preparation of mercury, especially as a treatment for syphilis.

Concepts

mercurielle

mercuriel

inconstant

volage

erratique

lunatique

volatil

mercurial

mercure

vif-argent

Synonymes

fickle

volatile

mercuric

quicksilver

inconstant

erratic

unstable

mercury

lively

quick

variable

crisp

dapper

dashing

flighty

floating

fluctuating

frisky

gay

grig

impetuous

insincere

jaunty

lightsome

live

lurid

mercurous

mobile

moody

mutable

peppy

perky

poignant

protean

quick-witted

racy

tergiversator

uncertain

unpredictable

unsettled

vagarious

vibrant

vivacious

vivid

voluble

whiffler

zippy

chameleonic

ready-witted

erratical

Traductions

incostante

volubile

instável

volúvel

capriccioso

mercurial

lebhaft

wechselhaft

veleidoso

wankelmütig

wispelturig

quecksilberhaltig

kwikhoudend

inconstante

volátil

Prononcé comme (IPA)

/məːˈkjʊə.ɹɪ.əl/

Étymologie (Anglais)

Hérité de moyen anglais: mercurial

Appartenant à moyen anglais: mercurial

In summary

Noun sense 1 (“(obsolete) plant known as mercury”) is from Middle English mercurial, from Anglo-Norman mercurial and Old French mercurial, or directly from their etymon, from Mercurius (“the Roman god Mercury”) + -ālis (suffix forming adjectives of relationship from nouns).
Later adjective and noun uses may have been directly derived from Latin mercuriālis, whence Middle English mercurial (“under the astrological influence of the planet Mercury”).