Æs

Metals minerals and metallic preparations · A Chymical Dictionary

At a Glance

The word. A metal term whose referent must be established from context.

In the book. The entry is especially valuable beside the dictionary’s planetary metal names: Sol and Luna terminology can make an identification seem familiar, while Æs deliberately remains wider.

A place to read. The historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 2; facsimile PDF page 330.

Historical Definition

Æs does not always mean copper, but sometimes gold, silver, or another metal that is pure and generated by itself, without the mixture of another metal or stone. From some such metal people formerly made and coined money.

Meaning

The first sentence is an explicit warning against mechanical substitution. Although copper is one permitted meaning, the entry also admits gold, silver and other pure metals. Purity here is described by the absence of admixture with another metal or stone, together with an account of independent generation. These are the dictionary’s criteria, not a modern assay specification.

The reference to coinage supplies a field of use rather than a unique identification. Several metals can be coined, and the sentence leaves its particular metal unspecified. In a passage about Æs, inspect the operations, colour descriptions and named companions before deciding which metal the writer intends.

Use in the Book

The entry is especially valuable beside the dictionary’s planetary metal names: Sol and Luna terminology can make an identification seem familiar, while Æs deliberately remains wider. Its meaning cannot be settled by modern spelling resemblance alone.

Places to Read

Luna. The lunar name denotes silver.

Chrysos. A direct name equivalence for gold.

Historical source: 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 2; facsimile PDF page 330 — Facsimile

Sources. A Chymicall Dictionary (1650), s.v. Æs ; compare Luna, Chrysos

See also. Luna; Chrysos