mercurial - Dictionary definition and pronunciation - Yahoo! Education

Definition of mercurial

Reference
Dictionary
Encyclopedia
Thesaurus
World Factbook
Spanish Dictionary
Anatomy
Conversion Calculator
 
mer·cu·ri·al  audio  (mr-kyr-l) KEY 

ADJECTIVE:
  1. often Mercurial
    1. Roman Mythology Of or relating to the god Mercury.
    2. Astronomy Of or relating to the planet Mercury.
  2. Having the characteristics of eloquence, shrewdness, swiftness, and thievishness attributed to the god Mercury.
  3. Containing or caused by the action of the element mercury.
  4. Quick and changeable in temperament; volatile: a mercurial nature.
NOUN:
A pharmacological or chemical preparation containing mercury.
ETYMOLOGY:
Middle English, of the planet Mercury, from Latin mercurilis, of the god or planet Mercury, from Mercurius, Mercury

OTHER FORMS:
mer·curi·al·ly(Adverb)


 Visit our partner's site
Provided by Houghton Mifflin
logoeReference -- Download this interactive reference software to your desktop computer