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 tin-related calx name glossed as a spirit.
- A place to readThe historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 13; facsimile PDF page 341.
Historical definition
Calx Iovis is the spirit of tin.
Meaning
The explicit identification with tin is more informative here than translating the planetary name alone. The definition also calls the product a spirit, showing that a calx expression should not automatically be replaced by one modern category of dry powder. This entry has its own stated sense.
Read the other Calx entries as a varied family: some identify ash, some a precipitate, some a prepared metal. The common first word does not erase the differences. A passage’s operation must determine what this spirit of tin is intended to be.
Places to read
- Calx IovisRead the complete historical definition and its commentary.
- IupiterThe planetary name Jupiter denotes tin here.
- Calx MercuriiMercury identified in a precipitated condition.
- Calx lignorumA direct identification of a calx as ash from wood.
Source note
Historical source. 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 13; facsimile PDF page 341 — Facsimile
Sources. A Chymicall Dictionary (1650), s.v. Calx Iovis ; compare Iupiter, Calx Mercurii, Calx lignorum