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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 DictionaryFormicæ

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English Edition · Branch 497 of 740

Formicæ

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A Chymical Dictionary

p. 497

Formicæ

Body disease and historical medicine · A Chymical Dictionary

At a Glance

The word. Small bodily swellings described by comparison with warts.

In the book. Ficus cutis specifically names a wart on the skin of a horse’s legs.

A place to read. The historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 23; facsimile PDF page 351.

Historical Definition

Formicæ are small abscesses like warts.

Meaning

The comparison supplies an appearance rather than a cause. The entry calls the swellings small and like warts; it does not declare that they are the same thing as every wart or give a location.

Use in the Book

Ficus cutis specifically names a wart on the skin of a horse’s legs. Essaræ identifies wheals. These parallels show how short historical descriptions can focus on size, resemblance or location. The added details in another entry should not be used to manufacture a more exact diagnosis under Formicæ.

Places to Read

Essaræ. A short identification with wheals.

Ficus cutis. A bodily growth named with an additional historical medicinal use.

Historical source: 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 23; facsimile PDF page 351 — Facsimile

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

See also. Essaræ; Ficus cutis

497

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.