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 furnace characterised by downward separation of liquid.
- In the bookCohobatio concerns repeated drawing off and returning of liquid, while Diota names a circulating vessel.
- A place to readThe historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 19; facsimile PDF page 347.
Historical definition
Descensorium is a chymical furnace in which liquid falls downward from the gross matter.
Meaning
Direction supplies the defining feature. Liquid falls downward from the grosser matter within the arrangement described. The term therefore concerns equipment through the movement it allows, rather than through a particular furnace shape or material.
The dictionary does not state what subject is treated or what the descending liquid contains. Nor does it provide a drawing from which a complete design could be reconstructed.
Use in the book
Cohobatio concerns repeated drawing off and returning of liquid, while Diota names a circulating vessel. Cucurbita identifies a gourd-shaped vessel. Such entries give different clues about apparatus and operations: direction, repetition, circulation and shape. Keeping those clues separate is useful when reading a text that mentions several pieces of equipment.
Places to read
- DescensoriumRead the complete historical definition and its commentary.
- CohobatioRepeated distillation involving the return of the drawn liquid to its source body.
- CucurbitaA gourd-shaped vessel.
- DiotaA vessel identified by circulation.
In this edition
The phrase “gross matter” is retained as the historical contrast to the separated liquid. It is not an analytical specification of a residue.
Source note
Historical source. 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 19; facsimile PDF page 347 — Facsimile