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Operations instruments and practitioners

Cucurbita

A gourd-shaped vessel.

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 gourd-shaped vessel.
  • In the bookCyphantum names a distilling vessel or the art itself; Diota a circulating vessel.
  • A place to readThe historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 18; facsimile PDF page 346.

Historical definition

Cucurbita is a vessel shaped like a gourd.

Meaning

Shape supplies the definition. The entry does not specify the material from which the vessel is made, its dimensions, or the particular work performed in it. A reader can recognise the general form while taking those further details from the passage or illustration in view.

Use in the book

Cyphantum names a distilling vessel or the art itself; Diota a circulating vessel. These terms describe equipment through different features: shape, purpose or movement. They should not be treated as interchangeable labels for every vessel used in a chymical work.

Places to read

  1. CucurbitaRead the complete historical definition and its commentary.
  2. CyphantumA name that can denote equipment or the art performed with it.
  3. DiotaA vessel identified by circulation.

Source note

Historical source. 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 18; facsimile PDF page 346 — Facsimile

Sources. A Chymicall Dictionary 1650, s.v. Cucurbita