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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 DictionaryCist

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English Edition · Branch 712 of 740

Cist

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A Chymical Dictionary

p. 712

Cist

Language number and measures · A Chymical Dictionary

At a Glance

The word. A wine measure expressed as two gallons.

A place to read. The historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 16; facsimile PDF page 344.

Historical Definition

Cist, or Kist, is a quantity of two gallons of wine.

Meaning

The definition gives both a quantity and its material setting. The two historical names should remain linked in the index. It does not identify a locality or define the gallon, so converting it into a single exact modern volume would require additional evidence.

Kist has its own entry, making the cross-reference especially useful when a reader searches under the alternative spelling. Retaining the original measure in a translated recipe preserves the historical statement; any later conversion should state which standard is being assumed.

Places to Read

Kist. A capacity expressed through gallon and pint equivalents.

Carena. A small measure expressed as a fraction of a drop.

Historical source: 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 16; facsimile PDF page 344 — Facsimile

Sources. A Chymicall Dictionary (1650), s.v. Cist ; compare Kist, Carena

See also. Kist; Carena

712

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.