DiotimosReading Desk

Body disease and historical medicine

Serpheta

A remedy defined by its supposed dissolving effect on stone.

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 remedy defined by its supposed dissolving effect on stone.
  • In the bookCompare Saxifraga, a class of things said to break stone or gravel.
  • A place to readThe historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 42; facsimile PDF page 370.

Historical definition

Serpheta is a medicine that melts a stone.

Meaning

The entry supplies an attributed action rather than a composition. Stone belongs to the historical medical vocabulary of hard deposits; the sentence does not identify a particular drug or preparation.

Use in the book

Compare Saxifraga, a class of things said to break stone or gravel. The two definitions use different verbs, melting and breaking, which should remain visible in translation.

Places to read

  1. SerphetaRead the complete historical definition and its commentary.
  2. SaxifragaA therapeutic class defined by the breaking of stone or gravel.
  3. TartarumA wine-vessel deposit whose name also serves for bodily stones or gravel.

Source note

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

Sources. A Chymicall Dictionary (1650), s.v. Serpheta; 1650 facsimile PDF p. 370; compare Saxifraga, Tartarum