In the 2000s Briers was the curmudgeonly and extravagant father Hector MacDonald in the BBC television programme Monarch of the Glen (2000-05), appearing in series 1,2,3 & 7. He appeared in other programmes, see Later Career.
Word Origin and History for malleable Expand. adj. late 14c., capable of being shaped by hammering, from Middle French malleable and directly from Medieval Latin malleabilis, from malleare to beat with a hammer, from Latin malleus hammer (see mallet). Figurative sense, of persons, capable of being adapted first recorded 1610s.
Malleability is the quality of something that can be shaped into something else without breaking, like the malleability of clay. Malleability â also called plasticity â has to do with whether something can be molded. Clay (or Play-Doh) is the best example of something with high malleability; it can be sculpted into almost anything, so it's very malleable. A cinder block has no malleability at all; it can't be shaped into anything.