DiotimosReading Desk

Language number and measures

Cist

A wine measure expressed as two gallons.

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 wine measure expressed as two gallons.
  • A place to readThe historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 16; facsimile PDF page 344.

Historical definition

Cist, or Kist, is a quantity of two gallons of wine.

Meaning

The definition gives both a quantity and its material setting. The two historical names should remain linked in the index. It does not identify a locality or define the gallon, so converting it into a single exact modern volume would require additional evidence.

Kist has its own entry, making the cross-reference especially useful when a reader searches under the alternative spelling. Retaining the original measure in a translated recipe preserves the historical statement; any later conversion should state which standard is being assumed.

Places to read

  1. CistRead the complete historical definition and its commentary.
  2. KistA capacity expressed through gallon and pint equivalents.
  3. CarenaA small measure expressed as a fraction of a drop.

Source note

Historical source. 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 16; facsimile PDF page 344 — Facsimile

Sources. A Chymicall Dictionary (1650), s.v. Cist ; compare Kist, Carena