From the book
A Chymical Dictionary
Gerhard Dorn and John French · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordWater associated with passage through chalk and the obtaining of Alcali.
- A place to readThe historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 3; facsimile PDF page 331.
Historical definition
Amnis alcalisatus is water passing through the earth’s chalk, from which Alcali is obtained.
Meaning
The name describes a water through what it passes through and what can be obtained from it. That relational structure is useful: the entry does not simply equate the water itself with dry Alcali. It distinguishes a carrier or source from the product associated with it. The historical wording leaves the precise extraction and the nature of the “chalk” to other evidence.
Read this beside Alcali, where extraction from ash or calx is explicitly described. The two entries show different ways the dictionary organizes substances by origin and preparation. They should not be forced into a single modern account of naturally occurring alkaline water.
Places to read
- Amnis alcalisatusRead the complete historical definition and its commentary.
- AlcaliSalt defined through extraction from ash or calx.
- Calx lignorumA direct identification of a calx as ash from wood.
Source note
Historical source. 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 3; facsimile PDF page 331 — Facsimile
Sources. A Chymicall Dictionary (1650), s.v. Amnis alcalisatus ; compare Alcali, Calx lignorum