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 swelling identified by its position beneath the tongue.
- In the bookOther aposteme entries use a different combination of place and qualities.
- A place to readThe historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 39; facsimile PDF page 367.
Historical definition
Rana is a swelling or abscess beneath the tongue.
Meaning
The definition makes bodily location the essential identifying feature. It supplies no further account of the swelling’s cause, contents or treatment. Its brevity should be preserved when assessing how specifically the historical name can be identified.
Use in the book
Other aposteme entries use a different combination of place and qualities. Ragadiæ names another bodily site; Sephirus adds hardness and dryness. These comparisons clarify the compiler’s descriptive habits without assigning the present term a modern diagnosis.
Places to read
Source note
Historical source. 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 39; facsimile PDF page 367 — Facsimile
Sources. A Chymicall Dictionary (1650), s.v. Rana; 1650 facsimile PDF p. 367; compare Ragadiæ, Sephirus