Fleet vs Mercurial - What's the difference?

fleet | mercurial | Related terms |

Fleet is a related term of mercurial.

As a proper noun fleet

is the stream that ran where fleet street now runs.

As a noun mercurial is

(obsolete) any of the plants known as mercury.

As an adjective mercurial is

(often capitalized, see (mercurial)) pertaining to the planet mercury.

fleet

English

Etymology 1

From (etyl)

Noun

(en noun)

A group of vessels or vehicles.

Any group of associated items.

* 2004 , Jim Hoskins, Building an on Demand Computing Environment with IBM

This is especially true in distributed printing environments, where a fleet of printers is shared by users on a network.

(nautical) A number of vessels in company, especially war vessels; also, the collective naval force of a country, etc.

(nautical, British Royal Navy) Any command of vessels exceeding a squadron in size, or a rear-admiral's command, composed of five sail-of-the-line, with any number of smaller vessels.

Etymology 2

From (etyl)

Noun

(en noun)

(obsolete) A flood; a creek or inlet, a bay or estuary, a river subject to the tide. cognate to Low German fleet

* Matthewes

Together wove we nets to entrap the fish / In floods and sedgy fleets .

(nautical) A location, as on a navigable river, where barges are secured.

Derived terms

* Fleet * fleet in being * Fleet Street * merchant fleet

Etymology 3

From (etyl)

Verb

(en verb)

(obsolete) To float.

[Antony] "Our sever'd navy too,
Have knit again, and fleet, threat'ning most sea-like."'' -- Shakespeare, ''Antony and Cleopatra

To pass over rapidly; to skim the surface of

a ship that fleets the gulf

(Spenser)

To hasten over; to cause to pass away lightly, or in mirth and joy

* Shakespeare

Many young gentlemen flock to him, and fleet the time carelessly.

And so through this dark world they fleet / Divided, till in death they meet;'' -- Percy Shelley, ''Rosalind and Helen .

(nautical) To move up a rope, so as to haul to more advantage; especially to draw apart the blocks of a tackle.

(Totten)

(nautical, obsolete) To shift the position of dead-eyes when the shrouds are become too long.

To cause to slip down the barrel of a capstan or windlass, as a rope or chain.

To take the cream from; to skim.

Adjective

(en-adj)

(literary) Swift in motion; moving with velocity; light and quick in going from place to place; nimble; fast.

* Milton

In mail their horses clad, yet fleet and strong.

* 1908:

(uncommon) Light; superficially thin; not penetrating deep, as soil.

(Mortimer)

mercurial

English

Noun

(en noun)

(obsolete) Any of the plants known as mercury.

(astrology) Someone born under the influence of Mercury.

Adjective

(en adjective)

(often capitalized, see (Mercurial)) Pertaining to the planet Mercury.

(often capitalized, see (Mercurial)) Pertaining to the Roman god Mercury, the god of trade; hence, money-making; crafty..

* J. Q. Adams

the mercurial wand of commerce

(astrology) Born under the influence of the planet Mercury, and having such characteristics.

Of, or pertaining to the element mercury; containing mercury; caused by the action of mercury or quicksilver.

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

* 1723 , Charles Walker, Memoirs of Sally Salisbury , I:

From the natural Mercurial Briskness of her Temper, a sedentary Life had ever been her Aversion [...].

Derived terms

* mercurial eczema * mercurial glossitis * mercurial ointment * mercurial phosphorus * mercurial pneumatic trough * mercurial rash * mercurial trough * mercurialisation, mercurialization * mercurialise, mercurialize * mercurialism * mercurialist * mercuriality * mercurially * organomercurial