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Diotimos Library · Esotericism & Spirituality Collection · English Edition

Gerhard Dorn and John French

A Chymical Dictionary

An Expanded Diotimos Lexicon of Paracelsian and Alchemical Language

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A Chymical DictionaryAssaliæ vermes

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English Edition · Branch 385 of 740

Assaliæ vermes

A Chymical Dictionary

p. 385

Assaliæ vermes

Plants animals and natural materials · A Chymical Dictionary

At a Glance

The word. Wood-associated worms, also called Teredones.

A place to read. The historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition pages 7, 8; facsimile PDF pages 335, 336.

Historical Definition

Assaliæ vermes are worms breeding in wood or between two boards; they are called Teredones.

Meaning

The definition identifies the creatures through their place of occurrence. Wood and the space between boards supply its practical recognition clues; Teredones supplies an alternative name. It does not distinguish a modern species, life stage or kind of wood. A historically accurate explanation should therefore preserve the observed setting rather than replace the entry with a narrow zoological identification.

The word vermes names the creatures in this account. It need not carry the same scope as a precise present-day biological category. In a passage, note whether the author concerns the animal, damage to wood or an analogy drawn from it.

Historical source: 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition pages 7, 8; facsimile PDF pages 335, 336 — Facsimile

Sources. A Chymicall Dictionary (1650), s.v. Assaliæ vermes

385

About This Reading Edition

The complete 706 historical definitions of the 1650 English dictionary, modernised and accompanied by expanded Diotimos commentary, reading routes, 15 textual notes and complete linked indexes.

Historical Text

A Chymicall Dictionary, London 1650, English version associated with John French, based on Gerhard Dorn’s Dictionarium Theophrasti Paracelsi. The containing volume also prints Sendivogius and Paracelsus; neither neighboring work changes this dictionary’s attribution.

About This Edition

Complete 706 definition paragraphs with new introduction, commentary, reading guides and indexes; Diotimos Editions, 2026.

Rights

The historical 1650 English text is in the public domain. New introduction, commentary, reading guides and indexes are © 2026 Diotimos Editions and published with the site owner’s authorization.