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 precipitated lead preparation with an explicit correction of terminology.
- In the bookCalx Saturni leads to Minium, joining the planetary name of lead to this prepared product.
- A place to readThe historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 33; facsimile PDF page 361.
Historical definition
Minium is the mercury, or rather the crocus, of lead precipitated.
Meaning
The phrase or rather is part of the definition’s reasoning. The compiler first offers mercury and then prefers crocus as the description of the precipitated lead material. The two words should not be presented as equally unqualified names after that correction has been removed.
Use in the book
Calx Saturni leads to Minium, joining the planetary name of lead to this prepared product. Orizeum præcipitatum also uses crocus-language in a definition concerned with a treated metal, but its subject is gold.
Places to read
- MiniumRead the complete historical definition and its commentary.
- Calx SaturniA Saturn-qualified calx identified as minium.
- Orizeum præcipitatumA gold preparation described through the obscure printed form cros.
In this edition
The correction and the operation of precipitation are both retained; the edition does not replace them with a modern formula.
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, Minium