From the book
A Chymical Dictionary
Gerhard Dorn and John French · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordLunar naming applied to Nature’s sulphur.
- In the bookLuna and Luna compacta provide different material equivalents.
- A place to readThe historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 30; facsimile PDF page 358.
Historical definition
Lunaria is the sulphur of Nature.
Meaning
The equivalent is a qualified sulphur, not the familiar plant-name a reader might expect and not simply silver. Nature is part of the expression the compiler supplies, so the meaning cannot be settled by translating the lunar stem alone.
Use in the book
Luna and Luna compacta provide different material equivalents. Sulphur rerum, in turn, concerns the quintessence of things. These headings place Lunaria within a network of qualified names without supplying a warrant to identify every member of that network as one substance.
Places to read
- LunariaRead the complete historical definition and its commentary.
- LunaThe lunar name denotes silver.
- Luna compactaA lunar compound assigned to quicksilver.
- Sulphur rerumThe sulphur of things used as a name for their quintessence.
Source note
Historical source. 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 30; facsimile PDF page 358 — Facsimile
Sources. A Chymical Dictionary 1650, 1650 dictionary, facsimile PDF page 358, Lunaria