Attractiva

Body disease and historical medicine · A Chymical Dictionary

At a Glance

The word. Medicines classified by a claimed power of attraction.

A place to read. The historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 8; facsimile PDF page 336.

Historical Definition

Attractiva are magnetic medicines with the power to draw to themselves things composed of similar attractives.

Meaning

The definition explains attraction through likeness between the attracting medicine and what is drawn. “Magnetic” therefore belongs to an account of affinity and action, rather than identifying an ordinary magnet as the sole ingredient. The plural names a class of medicines, not one preparation.

When reading a therapeutic passage, distinguish the attributed drawing power, its object and the substance said to exercise it. The dictionary supplies the relation but no verified treatment outcome. A material’s inclusion in this category records a historical explanation of efficacy. It does not establish that the attractive action occurred as claimed.

Places to Read

Magneticus tartarus. A bodily stone described by hardness and a spongy structure.

Repercussiva. Medicines classified by their supposed action of driving a flow back.

Historical source: 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 8; facsimile PDF page 336 — Facsimile

Sources. A Chymicall Dictionary (1650), s.v. Attractiva ; compare Magneticus tartarus, Repercussiva

See also. Magneticus tartarus; Repercussiva