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 occult fume described as the mother of metals.
- In the bookSpara similarly refers mineral virtue to the first being of metals.
- A place to readThe historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 43; facsimile PDF page 371.
Historical definition
Stannar is called the mother of metals, an occult fume out of which elements are generated.
Meaning
The definition supplies two connected descriptions: a generative title and a hidden fume. Its account of origin extends to elements generated from that fume. The phrase should remain intact even if its sequence differs from what a reader expects from other elemental accounts.
Use in the book
Spara similarly refers mineral virtue to the first being of metals. The comparison helps locate the language of origin, while preserving the present entry’s distinctive fume and mother imagery.
Places to read
Source note
Historical source. 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 43; facsimile PDF page 371 — Facsimile
Sources. A Chymicall Dictionary (1650), s.v. Stannar; 1650 facsimile PDF p. 371; compare Spara