Amalgama

Operations instruments and practitioners · A Chymical Dictionary

At a Glance

The word. The formation of a metal paste with quicksilver.

In the book. The entry is also useful beside the philosophical Mercury vocabulary.

A place to read. The historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 3; facsimile PDF page 331.

Historical Definition

Amalgama is the making of gold, silver or another metal into a paste with quicksilver.

Meaning

This entry defines an action through its materials and the condition produced. Gold and silver are examples rather than an exhaustive list; quicksilver is the common participant; a paste is the named result. The wording is therefore more informative than a bare equation between Amalgama and a single metal mixture. It records what the practitioner is doing to the metal.

In a historical passage, distinguish the forming of this paste from later operations performed upon it. A writer may retain the same material name while describing a changed condition, but the dictionary’s definition covers the act of combining into the stated form. It does not give proportions, temperature or a complete sequence.

Use in the Book

The entry is also useful beside the philosophical Mercury vocabulary. Here the account explicitly joins quicksilver to familiar metals and a recognizable material texture. A passage concerning Anima or Aquila Philosophorum may operate with a wider or differently qualified Mercury concept.

Places to Read

Mercurius Crudus. Mercury described before separation from its mineral source.

Aquila Philosophorum. The philosophers’ eagle explained as metallic first matter.

Anima. A designation of “our Mercury” through the language of soul.

Historical source: 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 3; facsimile PDF page 331 — Facsimile

Sources. A Chymicall Dictionary (1650), s.v. Amalgama ; compare Mercurius Crudus, Aquila Philosophorum, Anima

See also. Mercurius Crudus; Aquila Philosophorum; Anima