DiotimosReading Desk

Body disease and historical medicine

Sephirus

A swelling characterized by hardness and dryness.

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 characterized by hardness and dryness.
  • In the bookCompare Rana beneath the tongue and Ragadiæ in the private parts.
  • A place to readThe historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 42; facsimile PDF page 370.

Historical definition

Sephirus is a hard and dry swelling or abscess.

Meaning

The descriptive qualities distinguish this aposteme from entries identified by location. Hard and dry are both retained because they are the specific information the compiler supplies.

Use in the book

Compare Rana beneath the tongue and Ragadiæ in the private parts. These neighboring medical glosses show that the dictionary may classify a condition through appearance, feel, quality or bodily site.

Places to read

  1. SephirusRead the complete historical definition and its commentary.
  2. RagadiæA historical name for swellings of the genitals.
  3. RanaA swelling identified by its position beneath the tongue.

Source note

Historical source. 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 42; facsimile PDF page 370 — Facsimile

Sources. A Chymicall Dictionary (1650), s.v. Sephirus; 1650 facsimile PDF p. 370; compare Ragadiæ, Rana