What does ‘mercurial’ mean? – The Hindu

What is the meaning of the word ‘mercurial’? (R Sriram, Gurugram)

The Romans named many of the planets in our solar system in honour of their gods – Venus, Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, etc. The word ‘mercurial’ comes from Mercury, and in Roman mythology, Mercury was the messenger of the gods. His job required speed; and the winged sandals and the winged helmet he wore enabled him to get from one place to another very quickly. Speed was one of the reasons why the small planet was named Mercury. Like the god, the planet closest to the sun is very quick as well. Among the planets, Mercury is the fastest to orbit the sun – while it takes Earth 365 days to go around the sun, Mercury takes a mere 88 days.

Nowadays, the word ‘mercurial’ is used in everyday contexts to mean several different things. When used with people, it can refer to someone who is clever and full of energy. So energetic, in fact, that the person keeps changing his mind frequently; in other words, an individual who is mercurial is unpredictable – it becomes difficult to know what he will do next. In fact, the person himself may have no idea. A mercurial individual will have terrible mood swings; he will not be easy to get along with.

Jai didn’t have too many friends because of his mercurial temperament.

Udita’s mercurial mood swings were legendary in the world of theatre.

Other common expression with the word are ‘mercurial wit’ and ‘mercurial mind’.

What is the meaning of ‘nonplussed’? How is the word pronounced? (K Lalitha, Chennai)

The word consists of two syllables; the first is pronounced like the word ‘non’, while the ‘plus’ in the second, sounds like the word ‘plus’. The final ‘ed’ is like the ’t’ in ‘tap’, ‘toe’ and ‘tin’. The word is pronounced ‘non PLUST’ with the stress on the second syllable. It is a Latin word, and literally means ‘no more’ or ‘no further’. Traditionally, the word has mostly been used to mean confused or surprised. When you ask someone a question and his reply leaves you nonplussed, you are left scratching your head; you are left speechless for you do not know how to react to the strange or confusing remark. By the way, the opposite of ‘nonplussed’ is not ‘plussed’; the word ‘plussed’ does not exist on its own.

The workers were nonplussed by the Management’s decision.

Everyone was nonplussed when Vikram submitted his resignation letter.

For several centuries now, ‘nonplussed’ has mostly been used to mean confused, dumbfounded, etc. Of late, however, Americans have been using the word to mean ‘unfazed’ or ‘nonchalant’ – mostly in informal contexts. When you are unfazed by something, you are not affected by it –you are not worried, and therefore, stay calm. When Barack Obama was asked how his young daughters were dealing with the constant public scrutiny, he replied, “I’ve been really happy by how nonplussed they’ve been.” Old timers would frown on the former President’s use of ‘nonplussed’. This usage, however, is becoming relatively common in American English.

upendrankye@gmail.com