A Chymical Dictionary

Gutta rosacea

Body disease and historical medicine · A Chymical Dictionary

At a Glance

The word. A facial redness described through a historical comparison.

In the book. Essila describes a tint produced by the sun’s heat in the face or another bodily part.

A place to read. The historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 25; facsimile PDF page 353.

Historical Definition

Gutta rosacea is a redness, especially of the face, like the tincture seen at the beginning of leprosy.

Meaning

The definition gives an appearance and a comparison, not an equation. Redness is the main feature, especially on the face, and the compiler compares it with a tincture at the beginning of leprosy. The word “like” should remain visible: it does not say the two are identical conditions.

The historical use of tincture here concerns colouring. It differs from a passage in which tincture names a prepared material or a power of tinging another body.

Use in the Book

Essila describes a tint produced by the sun’s heat in the face or another bodily part. Tinctura gives the broad action of tinging with colour. These comparisons explain the colour vocabulary while leaving the different causes and medical descriptions attached to their own entries.

Places to Read

Essila. A bodily colouring attributed to the heat of the sun.

Tinctura. An agent defined by imparting color to another body.

In This Edition

The familiar-looking headword is retained as historical terminology. The edition does not assign it a present-day diagnosis or transform its comparison into a clinical test.

Historical source: 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 25; facsimile PDF page 353 — Facsimile

Sources. A Chymicall Dictionary 1650, s.v. Gutta rosacea

See also. Essila; Tinctura