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 Venus-qualified calx identified as verdigris.
- A place to readThe historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 13; facsimile PDF page 341.
Historical definition
Calx Veneris is verdigris.
Meaning
The definition gives the intended material directly. It is more reliable to follow that explicit identification than to translate the planetary name in isolation and stop there. Almizadir and Ziniar provide other routes into the verdigris vocabulary.
Chrysocolla is described as a green earth like verdigris, which is a resemblance rather than the same direct equation. Comparing the entries makes the difference between “is” and “like” useful. Their shared colour language does not, by itself, establish identical material composition.
Places to read
- Calx VenerisRead the complete historical definition and its commentary.
- AlmizadirA historical name directing the reader to verdigris.
- ZiniarA historical verdigris synonym.
- ChrysocollaA green earth identified through resemblance to verdigris.
Source note
Historical source. 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 13; facsimile PDF page 341 — Facsimile
Sources. A Chymicall Dictionary (1650), s.v. Calx Veneris ; compare Almizadir, Ziniar, Chrysocolla