mercurial adj

1 liable to sudden unpredictable change; "erratic behavior"; "fickle weather"; "mercurial twists of temperament"; "a quicksilver character, cool and willful at one moment, utterly fragile the next" [syn: erratic, fickle, quicksilver(a)]

2 relating to or under the (astrological) influence of the planet Mercury; "the Mercurial canals"

3 relating to or having characteristics (eloquence, shrewdness, swiftness, thievishness) attributed to the god Mercury; "more than Mercurial thievishness"

4 relating to or containing or caused by mercury; "mercurial preparations"; "mercurial sore mouth"

English

Pronunciation

• (RP): /mɜːˈkjʊəriəl/, /m3:"kjUəri@l/
• (US): mûrkjo͝oʹrēəl, /mɝˈkjʊriəl/, /m3`"kjUri@l/

Adjective

1. Volatile; erratic; unstable; flighty; fickle or changeable in temperament.
2. Lively; clever; sprightly; animated; quick-witted.

   a mercurial wit.

3. Of, or pertaining to the element mercury; containing mercury; caused by the action of mercury or quicksilver.
4. Having characteristics attributed to the Roman god Mercury, such as swiftness, eloquence, shrewdness, and thievishness.
5. In the context of "Roman mythology": (often capitalized, see Mercurial) Of or pertaining to the Roman god Mercury.
6. In the context of "astronomy": (often capitalized, see Mercurial) Of or pertaining to the planet Mercury; under the supposed astrological influence of the planet Mercury.

Derived terms

• mercurial eczema
• mercurial glossitis
• mercurial ointment
• mercurial phosphorus
• mercurial pneumatic trough
• mercurial rash
• mercurial trough
• mercurialisation, mercurialization
• mercurialise, mercurialize
• mercurialism
• mercurialist
• mercuriality
• mercurially
• organomercurial

Related terms

• mercury, Mercury

Translations

Noun

1. A chemical containing mercury.

Mercurial may refer to:

• Mercurial (software), a cross-platform distributed source management tool
• Mercurial Communications, the Canadian company that developed the Netscape 8.0 web browser

See also

• Mercury

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