mercurial

Definition

Any of the plants known as mercury, especially the annual mercury or French mercury (Mercurialis annua).

Etymology

Noun sense 1 (“(obsolete) plant known as mercury”) is from Middle English mercurial, from Anglo-Norman mercurial and Old French mercurial, or directly from their etymon, 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, whence Middle English mercurial (“under the astrological influence of the planet Mercury”).

Example Sentences

• "As for [Lambert] Simnell, there was not much in him, more then that hee was a handſome Boy, and did not ſhame his Robes. But this Youth (of whom wee are now to ſpeake) was ſuch a Mercuriall, as the like hath ſeldome beene knowne; and could make his owne part, if at any time hee chanced to bee out."
• "She had paſſed through the milder Remedies frequently without ſucceſs: upon which account I deſigned Mercurialls; and beginning with Venæſection, afterwards purged her with decoct. epithymi, as it is preſcribed in the method of Cure. [...] After I had thus evacuated the Plethora, and diſpoſed her body for Mercurialls more operative, I gave her each morning and evening a few grains of Mercur. diaphoret. in a bolus with conſ. lujule and Mithridate, [...]"
• "[A] small dose of the mercurial may cause excessive salivation; and, if this discharge be attended by much soreness of throat, it is most difficult to determine whether the salivation is actually the result of the mercurial, or merely symptomatic of the sore throat and cold. If it proceed from the mercurial, there will generally be some tenderness of the gums, a soft and flabby state of the sides of the tongue, and it will generally be more obstinate."