Search Result for "mercurial": 
Wordnet 3.0

ADJECTIVE (4)

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

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

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

4. relating to or containing or caused by mercury;
- Example: "mercurial preparations"
- Example: "mercurial sore mouth"



The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Mercurial \Mer*cu"ri*al\, n.
   1. A person having mercurial qualities. --Bacon.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. (Med.) A preparation containing mercury.
      [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Mercurial \Mer*cu"ri*al\, a. [L. mercurialis, fr. Mercurius
   Mercury: cf. F. mercuriel.]
   1. Having the qualities fabled to belong to the god Mercury;
      swift; active; sprightly; fickle; volatile; changeable;
      as, a mercurial youth; a mercurial temperament.
      [1913 Webster]

            A mercurial man
            Who fluttered over all things like a fan. --Byron.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. Having the form or image of Mercury; -- applied to ancient
      guideposts. [Obs.] --Chillingworth.
      [1913 Webster]

   3. Of or pertaining to Mercury as the god of trade; hence,
      money-making; crafty.
      [1913 Webster]

            The mercurial wand of commerce.       --J. Q. Adams.
      [1913 Webster]

   4. Of or pertaining to, or containing, mercury; as, mercurial
      preparations, barometer. See Mercury, 2.
      [1913 Webster]

   5. (Med.) Caused by the use of mercury; as, mercurial sore
      mouth.
      [1913 Webster]


WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

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, mercurial, 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"