From the book
A Chymical Dictionary
Gerhard Dorn and John French · Diotimos Editions · 2026
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At a Glance
- The wordAn eastern steel characterized by melting and casting.
- A place to readThe historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 3; facsimile PDF page 331.
Historical definition
Andena is steel brought from eastern countries, which melts in fire like other metal and is cast into various forms.
Meaning
The entry identifies a metal, gives it a geographical provenance and emphasizes its capacity to be cast. The latter distinguishes the author’s account from a description concerned only with the shaping of solid metal. Yet the definition offers no precise place of manufacture, composition or trade route. “Eastern countries” should therefore remain a broad historical claim rather than being expanded into an unsupported national origin.
For reading, preserve the sequence: the material is called steel, is melted, and then receives different forms by casting. The fact that a passage mentions one of these actions does not by itself establish every other feature of the dictionary’s definition.
Places to read
Source note
Historical source. 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 3; facsimile PDF page 331 — Facsimile
Sources. A Chymicall Dictionary (1650), s.v. Andena ; compare Hadid, Fusio