From the book
A Chymical Dictionary
Gerhard Dorn and John French · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordA liquid category defined by corrosive action, including vinegar.
- A place to readThe historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 5; facsimile PDF page 333.
Historical definition
Aqua corrodens is vinegar and every corrosive liquor.
Meaning
This expression is broader than the name of a single liquid. Vinegar is included, but “every corrosive liquor” extends the entry to an action-based family. In the dictionary’s classification, the relevant feature is what the liquid does to other matter. A passage must supply the particular substance and conditions.
Read the adjective carefully. A water described as dissolving, mercurial or permanent does not automatically become identical with this corrosive category. The vocabulary can distinguish an operation, a claimed origin or a philosophical property. Here, the explicitly named characteristic is corrosion.
Places to read
- Aqua corrodensRead the complete historical definition and its commentary.
- CorrosivaSurgical preparations classified by removal of excess flesh.
- Aqua solvensA direct identification of a dissolving water as distilled vinegar.
- Acetum radicaleA dissolving water described through the root and matrix of vinegar.
Source note
Historical source. 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 5; facsimile PDF page 333 — Facsimile