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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 DictionaryYrcus

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English Edition · Branch 446 of 740

Yrcus

Book Mode

A Chymical Dictionary

p. 446

Yrcus

Plants animals and natural materials · A Chymical Dictionary

At a Glance

The word. A male goat named with an attributed power of its blood.

In the book. The entry connects an animal material with hard mineral substances.

A place to read. The historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 48; facsimile PDF page 376.

Historical Definition

Yrcus is a male goat whose blood is said to soften glass and flints, and the like.

Meaning

The definition identifies the animal and then reports an effect said to belong to its blood. Is said preserves the original qualification; the effect is a claim transmitted by the compiler.

Use in the Book

The entry connects an animal material with hard mineral substances. It does not give a preparation or specify the conditions under which the attributed softening would occur.

Places to Read

Sperniolum. A frog-associated liquid described by its mucilaginous consistency.

Vegetabilia. Growing things described through rootedness and branching.

In This Edition

The claim is retained as historical material lore, with no experimental result invented to confirm it.

Historical source: 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 48; facsimile PDF page 376 — Facsimile

Sources. A Chymicall Dictionary (1650), s.v. Yrcus; 1650 facsimile PDF p. 376; compare Sperniolum, Vegetabilia

See also. Sperniolum; Vegetabilia

446

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.