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 soap-making lye connected with the surgical caustic Lapis infernalis.
- In the bookKali points to soap ashes.
- A place to readThe historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 29; facsimile PDF page 357.
Historical definition
Laterium is the strong lye used by soap-boilers, from which surgeons make their caustic called Lapis infernalis.
Meaning
The same material is situated first in a craft and then in surgery. Soap-boilers use the lye, while surgeons make from it a caustic bearing another name. The definition therefore distinguishes a working material from a subsequent product, rather than simply listing two synonyms.
Use in the book
Kali points to soap ashes. Read the pair for the dictionary’s passage between materials known from ordinary crafts and the prepared substances of medicine. Lapis, used for fixed things, also helps explain why a caustic preparation may bear a stone-name.
Places to read
In this edition
The old phrase capitall lees is rendered as strong lye in this craft context. It is the liquid’s stated use and caustic relation, rather than a modern formula, that supports the interpretation.
Source note
Historical source. 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 29; facsimile PDF page 357 — Facsimile
Sources. A Chymical Dictionary 1650, 1650 dictionary, facsimile PDF page 357, Laterium