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 mercurial name directly equated with alum water.
- In the bookThe neighbouring Mercurius compounds likewise require their particular definitions: one names a precipitated extraction, another a crystalline appearance, another a first being.
- A place to readThe historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 33; facsimile PDF page 361.
Historical definition
Mercurialis seva is alum water.
Meaning
The complete expression receives its own material equivalent. A reader should not discard alum water and substitute ordinary mercury merely because the headword is mercurial in form. The definition does not specify a preparation or kind of alum.
Use in the book
The neighbouring Mercurius compounds likewise require their particular definitions: one names a precipitated extraction, another a crystalline appearance, another a first being. Their shared vocabulary is not a substitute for those differences.
Places to read
- Mercurialis sevaRead the complete historical definition and its commentary.
- Mercurius CrystallinusA repeatedly sublimed mercurial preparation characterised by crystal-like clarity.
- Mercurius metallorum præcipitatusA preparation specified by metallic extraction followed by precipitation.
- Mercurius regeneratusRegenerated mercury defined through its first being.
Source note
Historical source. 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 33; facsimile PDF page 361 — Facsimile
Sources. A Chymical Dictionary 1650, 1650 dictionary, facsimile PDF page 361, Mercurialis seva