DiotimosReading Desk

Metals minerals and metallic preparations

Cathimia

A silver-related product described as scum.

From the book

A Chymical Dictionary

Gerhard Dorn and John French · Diotimos Editions · 2026

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Orientation

At a Glance

  • The wordA silver-related product described as scum.
  • A place to readThe historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 14; facsimile PDF page 342.

Historical definition

Cathimia is the scum of silver.

Meaning

The word identifies a portion or product associated with silver, rather than simply the metal in every state. “Scum” gives its relation to a separation or working, but the entry does not explain which process produces it. A reader should look for that operation in the surrounding source.

Calx Luna gives a different silver preparation, the azure flower. The two should remain distinct unless a cited passage explicitly connects them. Shared origin in silver is not by itself proof of identical material.

Places to read

  1. CathimiaRead the complete historical definition and its commentary.
  2. Calx LunaA silver preparation characterized through blue colour and flower vocabulary.
  3. LunaThe lunar name denotes silver.
  4. ScumaA name referred to squama or scale.

Source note

Historical source. 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 14; facsimile PDF page 342 — Facsimile

Sources. A Chymicall Dictionary (1650), s.v. Cathimia ; compare Calx Luna, Luna, Scuma