mercurial.
Any of the plants known as mercury, especially the annual mercury or French mercury (Mercurialis annua).
Meaning & usage
Any of the plants known as mercury, especially the annual mercury or French mercury (Mercurialis annua).
A person born under the influence of the planet Mercury; hence, a person having an eloquent, quickwitted, furtive, or volatile character.
A chemical compound containing mercury.
A preparation of mercury, especially as a treatment for syphilis.
Where this word comes from
Noun sense 1 (“(obsolete) plant known as mercury”) is from Middle English mercurial (“a plant, probably the goosefoot (Chenopodium); (possibly) dog’s mercury (Mercurialis perennis)”), from Anglo-Norman mercurial, Old French mercurial, or directly from their etymon Latin mercuriālis (“a plant, probably annual mercury (Mercurialis annua)”), short for herba mercuriālis (“(probably) annual mercury”, literally “herb or plant of the god Mercury”). Mercuriālis (“pertaining to the Roman god Mercury”, adjective) is derived 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 (adjective), whence Middle English mercurial (“under the astrological influence of the planet Mercury”).
Having a lively or volatile character; animated, changeable, quick-witted.
his mercurial temperament
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.
Where this word comes from
Noun sense 1 (“(obsolete) plant known as mercury”) is from Middle English mercurial (“a plant, probably the goosefoot (Chenopodium); (possibly) dog’s mercury (Mercurialis perennis)”), from Anglo-Norman mercurial, Old French mercurial, or directly from their etymon Latin mercuriālis (“a plant, probably annual mercury (Mercurialis annua)”), short for herba mercuriālis (“(probably) annual mercury”, literally “herb or plant of the god Mercury”). Mercuriālis (“pertaining to the Roman god Mercury”, adjective) is derived 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 (adjective), whence Middle English mercurial (“under the astrological influence of the planet Mercury”).
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.