mercurial
Meaning
-
- Having a lively or volatile character; animated, changeable, quick-witted.
- Pertaining to the astrological influence of the planet Mercury; having the characteristics of a person under such influence (see adjective sense 1).
- Pertaining to the planet Mercury.
- Of or pertaining to the element mercury or quicksilver; containing mercury.
- Caused by the action of mercury or a mercury compound.
- Pertaining to Mercury, the Roman god of, among other things, commerce, financial gain, communication, and thieves and trickery; hence (comparable), money-making; crafty.
Synonyms
mercuric
poignant
whiffler
ready-witted
Hyphenated as
mer‧cu‧ri‧al
Pronounced as (IPA)
/məːˈkjʊə.ɹɪ.əl/
Etymology
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”).
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Notes