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   Mer·cu·ri·al

   /mərˈkyo͝orēəl/

   

   adjective

   • 1. (of a person) subject to sudden or unpredictable changes of mood or mind: "his mercurial temperament"
   • ▪ (of a person) sprightly; lively.
   • 2. of or containing the element mercury: "gels containing organic mercurial compounds"
   • 3. of the planet Mercury.

   noun

   • 1. a drug or other compound containing mercury: "for twenty years organic mercurials were the most potent diuretics in clinical use"

   Word Origin late Middle English (in mercurial (sense 3 of the adjective)): from Latin mercurialis ‘relating to the god Mercury’, from Mercurius ‘Mercury’. mercurial (sense 1 of the adjective) dates from the mid 17th century.

   Derivatives

   • 1. mercuriality noun
   • 2. mercurially adverb

   Scrabble Points: 13

   • M

     3

   • E

     1

   • R

     1

   • C

     3

   • U

     1

   • R

     1

   • I

     1

   • A

     1

   • L

     1

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