mercurial vs mercury

mercurial

noun
  • A chemical compound containing mercury. 

  • A person born under the influence of the planet Mercury; hence, a person having an animated, lively, quick-witted or volatile character. 

  • A preparation of mercury, especially as a treatment for syphilis. 

adj
  • Of or pertaining to the element mercury or quicksilver; containing mercury. 

  • Caused by the action of mercury or a mercury compound. 

  • Pertaining to the astrological influence of the planet Mercury; having the characteristics of a person under such influence (see adjective sense 1). 

  • Pertaining to Mercury, the Roman god of, among other things, commerce, financial gain, communication, and thieves and trickery; hence (comparable), money-making; crafty. 

  • Pertaining to the planet Mercury. 

  • Having a lively or volatile character; animated, changeable, quick-witted. 

mercury

noun
  • An annual plant, annual mercury (Mercurialis annua), formerly grown for its medicinal properties; French mercury, herb mercury. 

  • One of the elemental principles formerly thought to be present in all metals. 

  • Any plant of any species of the genus and the genus Mercurialis. 

  • The poison oak or poison ivy. 

  • Ambient pressure or temperature (from the use of mercury in barometers and thermometers). 

  • A silvery-colored, toxic, metallic chemical element, liquid at room temperature, with atomic number 80 and symbol Hg. 

  • A similar edible plant (Blitum bonus-henricus), otherwise known as English mercury or allgood. 

How often have the words mercurial and mercury occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )