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Salts solvents and liquid preparations

Anathron

A rock-associated salt described through appearance and disputed identification.

From the book

A Chymical Dictionary

Gerhard Dorn and John French · Diotimos Editions · 2026

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Orientation

At a Glance

  • The wordA rock-associated salt described through appearance and disputed identification.
  • In the bookFel vitri and Sal anathron offer related routes through the dictionary.
  • A place to readThe historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 3; facsimile PDF page 331.

Historical definition

Anathron, or Anachthron, is a kind of salt growing on rocks like white, stony moss; some call it salt nitre. The ancients falsely thought it the gall of glass, whereas it is rather the gall of stones.

Meaning

This definition combines observation-like description with a correction of earlier terminology. The material is said to grow on rock with the appearance of white, stony moss. The author then records “salt nitre” as one name used for it and rejects an older equation with the gall of glass. These are distinct claims, and each qualification should remain visible.

The contrast between glass and stones concerns the material’s supposed source or affinity. It does not amount to a modern chemical analysis. Nor does “some call it” establish that every historical reference to nitre names this substance. The most useful identification clues here are the stated surface, colour and form.

Use in the book

Fel vitri and Sal anathron offer related routes through the dictionary. Compare them when a passage uses the metaphor of gall or when an author specifies the salt more closely. The resemblance between Anathron and Anachthron is explicitly authorized by this entry; broader spellings require separate evidence.

Places to read

  1. AnathronRead the complete historical definition and its commentary.
  2. Fel vitriA material identified as glass scum.
  3. Sal anathronA salt derived from the material called stony moss.
  4. NitrumA name for saltpetre.

Source note

Historical source. 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 3; facsimile PDF page 331 — Facsimile

Sources. A Chymicall Dictionary (1650), s.v. Anathron ; compare Fel vitri, Sal anathron, Nitrum