The word for today is…

malleable (adjective) –

1 : capable of being extended or shaped by beating with a hammer or by the pressure of rollers
2a : capable of being altered or controlled by outside forces or influences
b : having a capacity for adaptive change

Source : Merriam -Webster

Etymology : There is a hint about the origins of “malleable” in its first definition. The earliest uses of the word, which first appeared in English in the 14th century, referred primarily to metals that could be reshaped by beating with a hammer. The Middle English word malliable comes to us from Medieval Latin malleabilis, which in turn derives from the Latin verb malleare, meaning “to hammer.” “Malleare” itself was created from the Latin word for “hammer”: “malleus.” If you have guessed that “maul” and “mallet,” other English words for specific types of hammers, can also be traced back to “malleus,” you have hit the nail on the head.

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David is a retired surgeon originally from London who came to New Zealand twenty-seven years ago after being delayed in Singapore for thirteen years on leaving the UK. He was coerced into studying Latin...