From the book
A Chymical Dictionary
Gerhard Dorn and John French · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordThe final matter or resulting condition of things.
- In the bookRebis, separately defined as bodily excrement, must remain distinct.
- A place to readThe historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 40; facsimile PDF page 368.
Historical definition
Rebus is the last matter of things.
Meaning
Last matter places the term at the other end of a process from first matter. The definition supplies an order of stages, though it does not name one specific final substance. The subject of the surrounding passage determines what thing has reached its last matter.
Use in the book
Rebis, separately defined as bodily excrement, must remain distinct. The entries demonstrate why small differences in historical spelling can carry a large difference in the gloss supplied.
Places to read
Source note
Historical source. 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 40; facsimile PDF page 368 — Facsimile
Sources. A Chymicall Dictionary (1650), s.v. Rebus; 1650 facsimile PDF p. 368; compare Rebis