From the book
A Chymical Dictionary
Gerhard Dorn and John French · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordNames with airy-spirit and gigantic woodland senses.
- In the bookSylphes receives a different local equation, pygmies.
- A place to readThe historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 44; facsimile PDF page 372.
Historical definition
Sylvestres or sylvani are airy men and airy spirits; sometimes the names mean woodmen who are strong, gigantic men.
Meaning
The entry explicitly supplies more than one use. Airy men and spirits form the first description; the word sometimes introduces the woodland and gigantic interpretation. The qualifier preserves variation rather than resolving it into one species.
Use in the book
Sylphes receives a different local equation, pygmies. The common-looking forms are useful search companions, but their different definitions should remain visible. The dictionary itself does not say that the gigantic woodmen are pygmies.
Places to read
- SylvestresRead the complete historical definition and its commentary.
- SylphesA spirit name locally equated with pygmies.
- VmbraginesAnother name referred to pygmies.
- VndæSpirit names given both airy and earthy qualifications.
In this edition
The English airy follows the witness. No particular modern folklore taxonomy is imposed on these overlapping early modern names.
Source note
Historical source. 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 44; facsimile PDF page 372 — Facsimile