From the book
A Chymical Dictionary
Gerhard Dorn and John French · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordAn oil of vitriol preparation qualified through treatment with gold.
- In the bookThe entry does not say that sugar is added or describe a modern culinary sweetness.
- A place to readThe historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 36; facsimile PDF page 364.
Historical definition
Oleum Vitrioli aurificatum is that which is artificially sweetened with gold.
Meaning
The compound headword supplies the material family, while the definition explains its gold-related qualification. Artificially means by art or preparation, rather than simply something false. Sweetened is the historical description of the change effected with gold.
Use in the book
The entry does not say that sugar is added or describe a modern culinary sweetness. In a chemical passage, the altered quality should be followed through the stated materials and operation. Compare Turbith minerale, another preparation described through sweetness, and Sal practicum, explicitly defined as a mixture.
Oleum Calcotharinum supplies another oil-of-vitriol name, there characterized as red. Comparing that colour qualification with the present treatment involving gold helps distinguish two named preparations without assuming they are the same product.
Places to read
- Oleum Vitrioli aurificatumRead the complete historical definition and its commentary.
- Sal practicumA named mixture of saltpetre and sal ammoniac.
- Turbith mineraleA mercury preparation described through precipitation and sweetness.
- Oleum CalcotharinumA vitriol oil distinguished by its red colour.
In this edition
No composition or strength is inferred from the isolated oil name. The definition remains an account of a qualified preparation within the historical vocabulary.
Source note
Historical source. 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 36; facsimile PDF page 364 — Facsimile