Wednesday 14 January 2015

Mutable

Mutable doesn't mean 'able to be muted' which would have been my guess. It actually means liable to change or fickle. The meaning of words can change (wicked, gay, nice) so if mutable is a word which exhibits mutability, I might eventually be right.

Tulip flowers are mutable; often changing colour as they age or 'breaking' into intricate patterns as a reaction to a virus.

22 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Fickle tulips!

Maggie May said...

As mute means silent, I would have gone with that too. What an interesting language we have.

Author R. Mac Wheeler said...

I didn't know tulips did that...I assumed they were cross-pollinated and ... you know...

Unknown said...

Think I'm pretty good at word discrepancies, but some still do catch me out! Grrrrr...

Chrys Fey said...

Your definition of mutable would've been my guess too.

Unknown said...

Thanks for the visit, Patsy, and the encouragement, children seem to like my books, for I keep the excitement happening from page to page. Think I'd be exhausted if I were the young reader :0)

Maria said...

Well...I never knew that, thanks for sharing.

Nicola said...

Hmmm....don't think I'll be using that word. Don't like the sound of it. But I have used some of your other vocabulary sharings :)

Patsy said...

They are - but so pretty I forgive them.

Patsy said...

We certainly do, Maggie.

Patsy said...

They do that stuff too, Mac.

Patsy said...

There are a lot of chances to get caught out, Carole.

Patsy said...

It is logical, Chrys.

Patsy said...

Exhausted is better than bored!

Patsy said...

Maybe it'll come in useful, Maria. Maybe not!

Patsy said...

There are plenty of other ways to say much the same thing, Nicola so you should be able to avoid it.

Rosemary Gemmell said...

Wasn't quite sure about the meaning of that word, so thanks Patsy! Lovely photo.

Unknown said...

So lovely to see spring flowers. I can't wait for colour in the garden again. Sure I've heard of mutant forms of things before and imagined it meant something scary.

Patsy said...

I'm looking forward to my garden looking like that again, Rosemary.

Patsy said...

Presumably mutable comes from the word mutate, Christine. It would seem not all mutations are bad.

Linda G. said...

Beautiful tulips! And I wish some of the people I know were mutable in both senses of the word -- what it actually means, and what it seems like it should mean. *grin*

Patsy said...

I think maybe we know some of the same people, Linda!