Monstra

Plants animals and natural materials · A Chymical Dictionary

At a Glance

The word. An animal category covering unusual origin as well as deficiency or excess.

In the book. Pygmeæ combines artificial human beings and subterranean spirits within another compact definition.

A place to read. The historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 33; facsimile PDF page 361.

Historical Definition

Monstra are animals which either have no proper parents and are not born from things like themselves, or have some defect or excess in Nature; for more on this, see the first book of the preceding treatise.

Meaning

The definition gives alternatives. One concerns parentage and generation from unlike things; the other concerns a defect or excess in Nature. A reader should not reduce the whole category to bodily deformity, since that would omit the first branch of the account.

The entry also points beyond the dictionary. Its preceding treatise is part of the historical volume’s arrangement, not an unspecified modern discussion. The direction is evidence that the short gloss expects a fuller account elsewhere.

Use in the Book

Pygmeæ combines artificial human beings and subterranean spirits within another compact definition. Comparing the headings can help readers see that the book’s categories are not limited to ordinary reproductive and bodily descriptions.

Places to Read

Pygmeæ. A name used for artificial people and, sometimes, underground spirits.

In This Edition

The historical word Monstra is retained as a headword. The commentary describes the compiler’s classification rather than using the category as an editorial judgement about people.

Historical source: 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 33; facsimile PDF page 361 — Facsimile

Sources. A Chymical Dictionary 1650, 1650 dictionary, facsimile PDF page 361, Monstra

See also. Pygmeæ