mercurial

1. (comparable) Having a lively or volatile character; animated, changeable, quick-witted.Examples: "his mercurial temperament"; "[Y]our Mercuriall wit hath mangonized a Gigantean fury with an humble hue."; "When the ſoule bringeth its fire deſire out of its owne ſelfe-will into the Love-deſire of God; and goeth out of its owne ſelfneſſe, and ſinketh into the mercy and compaſſion of God, and caſteth it ſelfe into the death of Chriſt; and willeth no longer the fire-ſource, but deſireth in its fire-life to be dead in the death of Chriſt; then the poyſon of the Mercuriall life dyeth in the will of iniquity, and there ariſeth a new twigge, and budding of love-deſire."Synonyms: fickle, unpredictablecomparable

2. (not comparable, astrology) Pertaining to the astrological influence of the planet Mercury; having the characteristics of a person under such influence (see adjective sense 1).Examples: "The Sun to the Terms of Mercury. It inclineth the native to be Mercurial, given to ſtudy Arts and Sciences, and to delight in reading, and to follow his Calling with chearfulneſs."; "6thly, The ☽ separates from a △ of ♂︎, and applies to ☍ of ☿, lord of the 3d; which intimated that some neighbour of the querent, either with a letter, words, or cross information, would wholly destroy the querent's hopes; and that mercurial men, viz. scholars or divines, would be his enemies: [...]"not-comparable

3. (not comparable, astronomy) Pertaining to the planet Mercury.not-comparable

4. (not comparable, chemistry) Of or pertaining to the element mercury or quicksilver; containing mercury.Examples: "Beware alſo of Mercuriall lotions, I meane any which haue Mercurie Sublimate Precipitat or otherwiſe prepared in them, for though they haue good qualities, yet they are vpon my knowledge and experience dangerous, [...]"; "[...] Dr. Francis Fuller, [...] upon wearing a Quick-ſilver Girdle, for the Cure of the Itch, (and that after an inconſiderate and raſh manner) was brought under a violent Spaſmodick Diſtemper, which was ſupposed by himſelf and others to be owing to ſome Mercurial Particles lodg'd in ſome excretory Ducts of the Brain."; "If to theſe we add the inconveniences inſeparable from mercurial preparations, and which are always the conſequences of their uſe; if we conſider the ſmall number of patients to whom mercury may be exhibited with ſafety, [...] the uſe of mercurial medicines will be confined within very narrow limits."not-comparable

5. (not comparable, medicine) Caused by the action of mercury or a mercury compound.Examples: "I ſaw in the Year 1709. a notable inſtance, where a Phyſician order'd the Patient to be Bled five times in a Mercurial Salivation in a Caſe not Venereal; when he did ſpit at the rate of ℔ iv. per diem, and it was at the height, and yet notwithſtanding it did continue for all this, and the Patient eſcap'd with his Life."; "The last exciting cause of the mercurial ulcer, which I shall now mention, is the use of the knife or of the caustic, during a mercurial course, to wounds made or enlarged at this time; for the great additional irritation, which the operation must produce, disposes such wounds to take on easily the mercurial disease."not-comparable

6. (not comparable, Roman mythology) Pertaining to Mercury, the Roman god of, among other things, commerce, financial gain, communication, and thieves and trickery; hence (comparable), money-making; crafty.Examples: "Near-synonym: Hermesian"; "I know the ſhape of's Legge: this is his Hand: / His Foote Mercuriall: his martiall Thigh / The brawnes of Hercules: but his Iouiall face— / Murther in heaven?"; "[Benjamin] Franklin, the mechanic of his own fortune, [...] tendering, from the self-created nation, to the mightiest monarchs of Europe, the olive-branch of peace, the mercurial wand of commerce, and the amulet of protection and safety to the man of peace on the pathless ocean from the inexorable cruelty and merciless rapacity of war; [...]"Romannot-comparable