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 name assigned to two historical pigment or mineral terms.
- A place to readThe historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 9; facsimile PDF page 337.
Historical definition
Azemasor is minium or cinnabar.
Meaning
The dictionary offers alternatives and does not select between them. The safe explanatory move is therefore to preserve both names and follow the surrounding text for its intended substance. Colour may help an author’s account, but colour alone does not prove that the two materials are identical.
Minium has its own dictionary entry. Aurum vitæ also compares a red product with ground cinnabar, explicitly as a resemblance. Together, these passages demonstrate the need to separate identification, alternative identification and comparison. Azemasor belongs to the second of those cases.
Places to read
- AzemasorRead the complete historical definition and its commentary.
- MiniumA precipitated lead preparation with an explicit correction of terminology.
- Aurum vitæA gold preparation identified through precipitation, heating and intense redness.
Source note
Historical source. 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 9; facsimile PDF page 337 — Facsimile
Sources. A Chymicall Dictionary (1650), s.v. Azemasor ; compare Minium, Aurum vitæ