“Protean” is one of those words that sounds like it should mean something else.
The way it sounds reminds me of plebian (“common”) or pedestrian (“unimaginative, commonplace.”)
I discovered the other day, while brainstorming ways to deal with difficult, possibly personality-disordered people (don’t ask!), that protean actually means “versatile” or “displaying great diversity.”
(So for the personality-disordered, “changeable” or perhaps even “moody.”)
The word comes from the Greek sea god Proteus, who could assume any form he chose.
The tropical flower protea takes its name from Proteus, because there are literally thousands of exotic-looking varieties.
