From the book
A Chymical Dictionary
Gerhard Dorn and John French · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordAn herbal wine defined by its intended medicinal character.
- A place to readThe historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 14; facsimile PDF page 342.
Historical definition
Cardonium is a medicinal wine made from herbs.
Meaning
The definition places the term in the family of prepared wines rather than treating it as an unqualified drink. Herbs supply the additional material, while “medicinal” records its intended role in the historical account. No particular herb, strength or method is named here.
Alcool vini concerns rectified spirit of wine, a different preparation, and should not automatically replace this herbal wine. The broader wine vocabulary can describe starting materials, liquids altered by distillation or mixtures made for a purpose. The complete term and its preparation determine the relevant sense.
Places to read
- CardoniumRead the complete historical definition and its commentary.
- Alcool viniThe wine-qualified term for rectified spirit.
- Vinum correctumA wine preparation referred to alcohol of wine.
- Vinum essatumWine carrying the powers attributed to another material.
Source note
Historical source. 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 14; facsimile PDF page 342 — Facsimile
Sources. A Chymicall Dictionary (1650), s.v. Cardonium ; compare Alcool vini, Vinum correctum, Vinum essatum