A Chymical Dictionary

Descensorium

Operations instruments and practitioners · A Chymical Dictionary

At a Glance

The word. A furnace characterised by downward separation of liquid.

In the book. Cohobatio concerns repeated drawing off and returning of liquid, while Diota names a circulating vessel.

A place to read. The historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 19; facsimile PDF page 347.

Historical Definition

Descensorium is a chymical furnace in which liquid falls downward from the gross matter.

Meaning

Direction supplies the defining feature. Liquid falls downward from the grosser matter within the arrangement described. The term therefore concerns equipment through the movement it allows, rather than through a particular furnace shape or material.

The dictionary does not state what subject is treated or what the descending liquid contains. Nor does it provide a drawing from which a complete design could be reconstructed.

Use in the Book

Cohobatio concerns repeated drawing off and returning of liquid, while Diota names a circulating vessel. Cucurbita identifies a gourd-shaped vessel. Such entries give different clues about apparatus and operations: direction, repetition, circulation and shape. Keeping those clues separate is useful when reading a text that mentions several pieces of equipment.

Places to Read

Cohobatio. Repeated distillation involving the return of the drawn liquid to its source body.

Cucurbita. A gourd-shaped vessel.

Diota. A vessel identified by circulation.

In This Edition

The phrase “gross matter” is retained as the historical contrast to the separated liquid. It is not an analytical specification of a residue.

Historical source: 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 19; facsimile PDF page 347 — Facsimile

Sources. A Chymicall Dictionary 1650, s.v. Descensorium

See also. Cohobatio; Cucurbita; Diota