DiotimosReading Desk

Operations instruments and practitioners

Diota

A vessel identified by circulation.

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 vessel identified by circulation.
  • In the bookCucurbita supplies a shape-based vessel name, whereas Cyphantum can mean a distilling vessel or the art itself.
  • A place to readThe historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 20; facsimile PDF page 348.

Historical definition

Diota is a circulating vessel.

Meaning

The vessel is named through a movement or relation associated with its use. The definition gives no drawing, material, size or arrangement of its parts. It is consequently enough to recognise the functional category without inventing a design.

Use in the book

Cucurbita supplies a shape-based vessel name, whereas Cyphantum can mean a distilling vessel or the art itself. Cohobatio concerns repeatedly drawing off and returning a liquid. These related terms can help interpret an apparatus passage, but the dictionary does not say that every circulating vessel performs precisely the same work.

Places to read

  1. DiotaRead the complete historical definition and its commentary.
  2. CohobatioRepeated distillation involving the return of the drawn liquid to its source body.
  3. CucurbitaA gourd-shaped vessel.
  4. CyphantumA name that can denote equipment or the art performed with it.

Source note

Historical source. 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 20; facsimile PDF page 348 — Facsimile

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