Chifir Minerale

Metals minerals and metallic preparations · A Chymical Dictionary

At a Glance

The word. A disputed mineral term whose preferred sense is argued from context.

In the book. Sulphur rerum supplies related sulphur-of-things vocabulary, while Chrysos provides a direct gold identification.

A place to read. The historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 15; facsimile PDF page 343.

Historical Definition

Chifir Minerale is interpreted by some as gold, but I judge from what precedes it that it means the sulphur of any metal.

Meaning

The historical voice is unusually explicit. The author reports one interpretation, gold, and then offers another on the basis of preceding text: the sulphur of a metal. The entry therefore records an interpretive decision rather than an uncontested equivalence. Its first-person judgement should remain attributed instead of being presented as the editor’s discovery.

The method is valuable for readers. What comes before an unfamiliar term can outweigh a name recognized in isolation. The object is also broader in the preferred explanation: any metal’s sulphur, rather than one particular gold material.

Use in the Book

Sulphur rerum supplies related sulphur-of-things vocabulary, while Chrysos provides a direct gold identification. Comparing them keeps the alternatives intelligible without pretending that the unnamed preceding passage has been independently recovered from this dictionary sentence.

Places to Read

Sulphur rerum. The sulphur of things used as a name for their quintessence.

Chrysos. A direct name equivalence for gold.

Alcaest. A disputed preparation whose meaning depends on the author’s procedure.

Historical source: 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 15; facsimile PDF page 343 — Facsimile

Sources. A Chymicall Dictionary (1650), s.v. Chifir Minerale ; compare Sulphur rerum, Chrysos, Alcaest

See also. Sulphur rerum; Chrysos; Alcaest