Origin: Latin suffix -al
Mercurial has 6 different meanings across 1 category:
Any of the plants known as mercury, especially the annual mercury or French mercury (Mercurialis annua).
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"
relating to or under the (astrological) influence of the planet Mercury
"the Mercurial canals"
relating to or having characteristics (eloquence, shrewdness, swiftness, thievishness) attributed to the god Mercury
"more than Mercurial thievishness"
relating to or containing or caused by mercury
"mercurial preparations"
"mercurial sore mouth"
Having a lively or volatile character; animated, changeable, quick-witted.
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").