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Serpheta
Body disease and historical medicine · A Chymical Dictionary
At a Glance
The word. A remedy defined by its supposed dissolving effect on stone.
In the book. Compare Saxifraga, a class of things said to break stone or gravel.
A place to read. The historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 42; facsimile PDF page 370.
Historical Definition
Serpheta is a medicine that melts a stone.
Meaning
The entry supplies an attributed action rather than a composition. Stone belongs to the historical medical vocabulary of hard deposits; the sentence does not identify a particular drug or preparation.
Use in the Book
Compare Saxifraga, a class of things said to break stone or gravel. The two definitions use different verbs, melting and breaking, which should remain visible in translation.
Places to Read
Saxifraga. A therapeutic class defined by the breaking of stone or gravel.
Tartarum. A wine-vessel deposit whose name also serves for bodily stones or gravel.
Historical source: 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 42; facsimile PDF page 370 — Facsimile
Sources. A Chymicall Dictionary (1650), s.v. Serpheta; 1650 facsimile PDF p. 370; compare Saxifraga, Tartarum