From the book
A Chymical Dictionary
Gerhard Dorn and John French · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordThe effective power attributed to things.
- A place to readThe historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 4; facsimile PDF page 332.
Historical definition
Aniadus is the efficacy of things.
Meaning
The term concerns what things can accomplish rather than merely their visible shape or quantity. Its very short definition does not tell us whether a particular efficacy is natural, prepared, celestial or medicinal. Those distinctions belong to the surrounding account. The related-looking Aniada has an expressly celestial sense, but that does not authorize importing all its meanings here. This entry names efficacy broadly; each use requires the particular effect and thing to be identified.
Places to read
- AniadusRead the complete historical definition and its commentary.
- AniadaA term linking heavenly gifts, Christian sacraments and life-preserving celestial influence.
- QualitasThe balance of hot, cold, dry and moist qualities.
- ArcanumA hidden virtue in natural things, capable in this account of enhancement through art.
Source note
Historical source. 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 4; facsimile PDF page 332 — Facsimile
Sources. A Chymicall Dictionary (1650), s.v. Aniadus ; compare Aniada, Qualitas, Arcanum