Jupiter

From Latin Iūpiter (“father Jove”), from Proto-Italic *djous patēr (literally “sky father”) (cognate with Ancient Greek Ζεῦ πάτερ (Zeû páter, “father Zeus”)), from *djous (“day, sky”) + *patēr (“father”), from Proto-Indo-European *dyḗws (literally “the bright one”), from *dyew- (“to be bright, day sky”), and *ph₂tḗr (“father”). Doublet of Dyaus Pita.

der

Mercury · Venus · Earth · Mars · Jupiter · Saturn · Uranus · Neptune [edit]


air

en-noun

air (countable and uncountable, plural airs)

airs (plural)
aire (alternative obsolete)
ayre (alternative obsolete)
eyr (alternative obsolete)
ayr (alternative)

→ Jersey Dutch: êr

From Middle English aire, from Old French air, from Latin āēr, from Ancient Greek ἀήρ (aḗr). Displaced native Old English lyft. More at lift, loft.

err (one US pronunciation or with fair–fur merger)

хӏауа

mixture of gases making up the atmosphere of the Earth

(uncountable) The substance constituting Earth's atmosphere: a gaseous mixture of nitrogen, oxygen, and various trace gases.

(historical, philosophy, alchemy) One of the four elements of the ancient Greeks and Romans.


earth

earth (countable and uncountable, plural earths)

earths (plural)
airth (alternative Scotland)
erd (alternative dialectal rare)
yearth (alternative obsolete)

From Middle English erthe, from Old English eorþe, from Proto-West Germanic *erþu, from Proto-Germanic *erþō (“dirt, ground, earth”) (compare West Frisian ierde, German Low German Eerd, Dutch aarde, Dutch Low Saxon eerde, German Erde, Danish, Swedish and Norwegian jord), related to *erwô (“earth”) (compare Old High German ero, perhaps Old Norse jǫrfi), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁er- (compare Ancient Greek *ἔρα (*éra, “earth”) in ἔραζε (éraze, “to the ground, to earth”), perhaps Tocharian B yare (“gravel”).
Probably unrelated, but of unknown etymology, is Old Armenian երկիր (erkir, “earth”). Likewise, the phonologically similar Proto-Semitic *ʔarṣ́- – whence Arabic أَرْض (ʔarḍ), Hebrew אֶרֶץ (ʾereṣ) – is probably related.

inh

earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust

(alchemy, philosophy and Taoism) The aforementioned soil- or rock-based material, considered one of the four or five classical elements.


fire

en-noun

fire (countable and uncountable, plural fires)

fires (plural)
fier (alternative archaic)

→ Japanese: ファイヤー (faiyā)

Sranan Tongo: faya

From Middle English fyr, from Old English fȳr (“fire”), from Proto-West Germanic *fuir, from *fuïr, a regularised form of Proto-Germanic *fōr (“fire”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *péh₂wr̥.
See also Saterland Frisian Fjuur, West Frisian fjoer, Dutch vuur, Low German Füer, German Feuer, Danish fyr. Also, compare Hittite 𒉺𒄴𒄯 (paḫḫur), Umbrian pir, Tocharian A/B por/puwar, Czech pýř (“hot ashes”), Russian пуры́нь (purýnʹ), Ancient Greek πῦρ (pûr, “fire”), and Armenian հուր (hur, “fire”). This was an inanimate noun whose animate counterpart was Proto-Indo-European *h₁n̥gʷnis (see ignite). Cognate to pyre.

I wouldn't piss on someone if they were on fire

pull someone's chestnuts out of the fire

there may be snow on the mountaintop but there's fire in the valley

there may be snow on the rooftop but there is fire in the furnace

you don't look at the mantelpiece when you poke the fire

you don't look at the mantelpiece when you're poking the fire

(uncountable, alchemy, philosophy) The aforementioned chemical reaction of burning, considered one of the Classical elements or basic elements of alchemy.


wind

wind (countable and uncountable, plural winds)

winds (plural)
winde (alternative obsolete)

Tok Pisin: win

Torres Strait Creole: win

From Middle English wynd, wind, from Old English wind (“wind”), from Proto-West Germanic *wind, from Proto-Germanic *windaz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂wéh₁n̥tos (“wind”), from earlier *h₂wéh₁n̥ts (“wind”), derived from the present participle of *h₂weh₁- (“to blow”).
Cognates
Cognate with Dutch wind, German Wind, West Frisian wyn, Norwegian and Swedish vind, Icelandic vindur, Latin ventus, Welsh gwynt, Sanskrit वात (vā́ta), Russian ве́тер (véter), perhaps Albanian bundë (“strong damp wind”). Doublet of athlete, vent, weather and nirvana.

it's an ill wind that blows nobody any good

you don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows

(philosophy, alchemy) One of the four elements of the ancient Greeks and Romans; air.


lunar

From Middle English lunar (“shaped like the crescent moon”), from Latin lūnāris (“of or pertaining to the moon, lunar”) (possibly through Middle French lunaire (modern French lunaire (“lunar”)), from lūna (“the Moon; crescent shape”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *lewk- (“bright; to shine”)) + -is (suffix forming adjectives).

der

On the Poison of Serpents. By W. Boag, Esq. [...] Supposing the fatal effect [of a snakebite] to be produced by the sudden subtraction of oxygen from the blood, this gentleman recommends, by way of antidote, the employment of those substances which contain oxygen in its greatest abundance, and part with it with the greatest facility; and, as lunar caustic [silver nitrate] possesses these properties in a singular degree, he concludes that no medicine is better calculated to resist the effects of the poison of serpents.

1805 April, “Art. V. Asiatic Researches, Vols. VI. and VII. …”, in The Monthly Review; or, Literary Journal, Enlarged, volume XLVI, London: Printed by Strahan and Preston, […]; and sold by T[homas] Becket, […], published 1794, →OCLC, page 379:

(alchemy, chemistry, historical) Of or pertaining to silver (which was symbolically associated with the Moon by alchemists).


Venus

en-noun

Venus (countable and uncountable, plural Venuses or Veneres)

From Middle English Venus, from Latin Venus.

CRYSTALS of Venus or of copper, called also vitriol of Venus, is copper reduced into the form of vitriol by spirit of nitre, or by dissolving verdegris in good distilled vinegar, till the acid be saturated; it is very caustic and used to eat off proud flesh. It is also used by painters, and manufacturers, and sold under the name of distilled vinegar. See CHEMISTRY.

1807, A New and Complete Encyclopaedia; or, Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences: Vol III, page 48:

Another pair of terms which caused some confusion were Spirit of Saturn and Spirit of Venus, names suggesting compounds of lead and copper respectively. Jean Beguin described the preparation from minium and distilled vinegar of a liquid he called burning spirit of Saturn, e cause it was inflammable and he thought it was a compound of lead. Actually the lead takes no part in the reaction and the product of distilling lead acetate is impure acetone. Beguin’s terminology did not go without comment however, for Christopher Glaser later referred to ‘A burning Spirit of Saturn (as it is called) but rather, a Spirit of the Volatile Salt of Vinegar’. Tachenius referred to the product of distillation of copper acetate as ‘pretended spirit of Venus’ because it was really only distilled vinegar - the meaning which Macquer gave to the expression. It is typical of the confusion of terminology in early chemistry that the London Pharmacopoeia of 1721 gave the name Spiritus Veneris to sulphuric acid obtained by the distillation of copper sulphate.

2004, Maurice P. Crosland, Historical Studies in the Language of Chemistry, page 89:

The association of the heavenly bodies with known metals and also with human organs and destinies goes back to ancient Chaldea, the land of astrologers. In Chaucer’s words: ‘The seven bodies eek, lo hear anon. Sol gold is, and Luna silver we declare; Mars yron, Mercurie is quyksilver; Saturnian leed; and Jubitur is tyn, and Venus coper, by my fathers kyn.’ […] Corresponding names were bestowed upon salts of these metals by the alchemists, and some of them have persisted down to the present day. Some examples are lunar caustic (silver nitrate); vitriol of Venus (copper sulphate); sugar of Saturn (lead acetate); and vitriol of Mars, or Martial vitriol (ferrous sulphate).

2013, John Read, From Alchemy to Chemistry:

(obsolete, alchemy, chemistry) Copper (a reddish-brown, malleable, ductile metallic element).


spirit

spirit (countable and uncountable, plural spirits)

spirits (plural)
spir't (alternative Early Modern)

From Middle English spirit, from Old French espirit (“spirit”), from Latin spīritus (“breath; spirit”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)peys- (“to blow, breathe”). Compare inspire, respire, transpire, all ultimately from Latin spīrō (“I breathe, blow, respire”). In this sense, displaced native Middle English gast (from Old English gāst), whence modern English ghost. Doublet of spiritus, spirytus, sprite, spright, and esprit.

doublet

the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak

(alchemy, obsolete) Any of the four substances: sulphur, sal ammoniac, quicksilver, and arsenic (or, according to some, orpiment).


Saturn

From Old English Sætern, from Latin Sāturnus, probably from Etruscan 𐌔𐌀𐌕𐌓𐌄 (satre), plausibly influenced by Latin satus, past participle of serere (“to sow”).

(obsolete, alchemy, chemistry) Lead (the metal).


gnome

From French gnome (“gnome”), from New Latin gnomus, used by Paracelsus as a synonym for pygmaeus (“pygmy”).

He adopts the Rosycrusian fancy of Gnomes, spirits which inhabit the earth, and who by their power form the ores of metals, and all the wonders met with in the inmost recesses of the globe.

1811, The Medical and Physical Journal, volume 25, page 138:

Day belongs to the earthlier deities—the stern, the harsh, and the cold. Gnomes are the spirits of daily hours. Toil, thought, and strife, beset us: we have to work, to quarrel, and to struggle: we have to take our neighbours in; or, at least, to avoid their doing so by us.

1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “Success”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 74:

Gnomes are perhaps the most useful of the elementals.
A gnome can carry a person with it as it swims through the soil, provided it is strong enough to lift the person. The gnome cannot, however, provide air for that person[…].

2006, Greg Lynch, RuneQuest Monsters, page 52:

Elementals are the consciousness guiding the four classical elements of earth, fire, air, and water. These elementals are depicted as gnomes, salamanders, diminutive faeries known as sylphs, and merfolk, known as undines, respectively.

2007, Christopher Penczak, Ascension Magick: Ritual, Myth and Healing for the New Aeon, page 413:

(magic, alchemy, Rosicrucianism) An elemental (spirit or corporeal creature associated with a classical element) associated with earth.


urinal

From Middle English urinal, urynal, orynal, from Old French urinal, orinal (“vessel for urination”), from Latin ūrīnālis (“urinary”). Use for plumbing fixtures attested from 1851.

/ˈjʉːəɹɪnəl/

A device or fixture used for urination, particularly:

(historical medicine and alchemy) A glass vial used for examining or storing urine.


philosopher's stone

en-noun

philosopher's stone (plural philosopher's stones)

philosopher's stones (plural)
Philosopher's Stone (alternative)
philosophers' stone (alternative)
philosophers stone (alternative)
stone of the philosophers (alternative)

A misconstruction of philosophers' stone, from Middle English philosophres ston, a calque of Latin lapis philosophōrum.

[…] I entered with the greatest diligence into the search of the philosopher's stone and the elixir of life.

1816 June – 1817 April/May (date written), [Mary Shelley], chapter I, in Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. […], volume I, London: […] [Macdonald and Son] for Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor, & Jones, published 1 January 1818, →OCLC, page 54:

1997, Christopher McIntosh, The Rosicrucians: The History, Mythology, and Rituals of an Esoteric Order, Weiser Books, 3rd Revised Edition, 1998, Paperback, page 51,
The Rosicrucianism of the Andreae era was only partly concerned with alchemy, but later revivals of the Rosicrucian idea were to lay great stress on their claims to possess the secrets of transmutation and the knowledge of the Philosopher's Stone or the Elixir of Life.

The Cleopatra of this early alchemical dialogue is not the famous Cleopatra VII (69-30 BC), last queen of the Ptolemy dynasty and lover of Mark Antony. Along with Mary Prophetess and Zosimos's Theosebia, this Cleopatra occupies a high place in alchemical lore as one of very few ancient female adepts who possessed the secret of the philosopher's stone.

2003, Stanton J. Linden, The Alchemy Reader: From Hermes Trismegistus to Isaac Newton, Cambridge University Press, page 44:

sorcerer's stone

putative substance able to turn base metals into gold

(alchemy) A supposed substance able to turn base metals, such as lead or mercury, into gold or silver, also sometimes claimed to cure any illness (as panacea) or confer immortality (as elixir of life), among other functions.


elixir

From Medieval Latin elixir (“philosopher's stone”), from Arabic اَلْإِكْسِير (al-ʔiksīr, “philosopher's stone”), from Ancient Greek ξηρίον (xēríon, “powder for drying wounds”), from ξηρός (xērós, “dry”).

der

اَلْإِكْسِير

elikser

alchemy: liquid which was believed to turn non-precious metals to gold

For Chinese alchemists, gold held the key to the Elixir, the Eastern equivalent of the Philosopher's Stone.

2002, Philip Ball, The Elements: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford, published 2004, page 59:

(alchemy) A liquid which converts lead to gold.

(alchemy) A substance or liquid which is believed to cure all ills and give eternal life.


elixir of life

(alchemy) A substance which when drunk brings immortality: eternal life, eternal youth.


phlegm

en-noun

phlegm (usually uncountable, plural phlegms)

From Middle English flewme, fleume, fleme, from Old French fleume, Middle French flemme (French flegme), and their source, Latin phlegma, from Ancient Greek φλέγμα (phlégma, “flame; inflammation; clammy humor in the body”), from φλέγειν (phlégein, “to burn”). Compare phlox, flagrant, flame, bleak (adjective), fulminate. Spelling later altered to resemble the word's Latin and Greek roots.
The regularly developed form /fliːm/ has been displaced by a pronunciation /flɛm/ of uncertain provenance. It may be inherited, though some kind of learned or spelling pronunciation or influence from phlegmatic is also conceivable.

der

The attempts made to analyse vegetable substances previous to 1720, merely produced their resolution into the supposed elements of the chemists of those days, namely, salts, Earths, phlegm, and sulphur.

1812, Humphry Davy, The Elements of Chemical Philosophy, Introduction, Part I. Vol. I, pp. 50-51:

(historical, chemistry, alchemy) A watery distillation, especially one obtained from plant matter; an aqueous solution.


azoth

From Andalusian Arabic الزُّوق (az-zūq), from Arabic الزَّاوُوق (az-zāwūq, “quicksilver”).

(alchemy) The first principle of metals, that is, mercury, which was formerly supposed to exist in all metals, and to be extractable from them.


Jove

From Middle English Joves, from Latin Iuppiter, Iovis, from Proto-Italic *djowe-, ablative case of *djous, from Proto-Indo-European *dyḗws. Doublet of Dyeus and Zeus.


Firſt of all bring Copper with ☿ ſublimate, and fixt Arſenick to bee white, yea as white as ☾, then beat it ſmall.

1650, Paracelsus, “Of the Nature of Things”, in John French, transl., A New Light of Alchymie, page 74:


As a man may return into the womb of his mother, i.e. into the Earth, out of which hee was firſt made a man, and ſhall again bee raiſed at the laſt day: ſo alſo all Metalls may returne into living ☿ againe, and become ☿, and by Fire bee regenerated, and purified, if for the ſpace of forty weeks, they bee kept in a continuall heat, as an infant is in his Mothers wombe.

1650, Paracelsus, “Of the Nature of Things”, in John French, transl., A New Light of Alchymie, page 11:

Edward he sayth that the Philosophers doe write of two 🜍rs & to them two ☿es joyned, & these are Red most pure & white.

c. 1653-1656, George Starkey, translated by William R. Newman, Lawrence M. Principe, Alchemical Laboratory Notebooks and Correspondence, University of Chicago Press, published 2004, page 250:

Then turned I up the Glaſs, and there appeared a thouſand ſparks, like very crude ☿ bright and ſhining, marvelous to ſight

1683, anonymous author, The Practice of Lights: Or an Excellent and Ancient Treatise of the Philosophers Stone, page 29; reprinted in Collectanea Chymica: A Collection of Ten Several Treatises in Chymistry, 1684:

(alchemy) Abbreviation of quicksilver., mercury


helm

From Middle English helm (“helmet; crown of thorns of Jesus; warrior; inn or shop sign”) [and other forms], from Old English helm (“helmet”), from Proto-West Germanic *helm, from Proto-Germanic *helmaz (“protective covering”), probably from Proto-Indo-European *ḱelmos, from the root *ḱel- (“to cover”). Doublet of heaume and related to helmet.
Cognates
* Gothic 𐌷𐌹𐌻𐌼𐍃 (hilms)
* Old Frisian helm (West Frisian helm)
* Old High German helm (Middle High German helm, modern German Helm; Italian elmo; Old French helme, modern French heaume; Spanish yelmo)
* Old Norse hjalmr (Danish hjelm, Norwegian hjelm, Swedish hjälm)
* Old Saxon helm (Low German Helm, Middle Dutch helm, modern Dutch helm)

inh

The Dragons teeth, Mercurie ſublimate, / That keepes the vvhiteneſſe, hardneſſe and the biting; / And they are gather’d, into Iaſon’s helme, / (Th’Alembeke) and then ſovv’d in Mars his field, / And, thence, ſublim’d ſo often, till they are fix’d.

1610 (first performance), Ben[jamin] Jonson, The Alchemist, London: […] Thomas Snodham, for Walter Burre, and are to be sold by Iohn Stepneth, […], published 1612, →OCLC, Act II, scene i:

(alchemy, chemistry) The upper part or cap of an alembic or retort.


albedo

en-noun

albedo (countable and uncountable, plural albedos or albedoes)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-albedo.wav

Borrowed from Latin albēdō (“whiteness”).

bor+

(alchemy) One of the four major stages of the magnum opus, involving purification of the prima materia.


quintessence

en-noun

quintessence (countable and uncountable, plural quintessences)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-quintessence.wav

PIE word
 *pénkʷe
From Middle English, borrowed from Middle French, from Medieval Latin quinta essentia (“fifth essence, aether”). "Essence" in this context is a synonym for "element". In pre-atomic/Aristotlean theory, there are four known elements or essences — Earth, Air, Fire and Water — and a putative fifth element (aether), which is considered to be of exceptional superior quality to the other four basic elements.

der

(alchemy) The fifth alchemical element, or essence, after earth, air, fire, and water that fills the universe beyond the terrestrial sphere.


projection

en-noun

projection (countable and uncountable, plural projections)

/pɹəˈd͡ʒɛkʃən/

From either the Middle French projection or its etymon, the Classical Latin prōiectiō (stem: prōiectiōn-), from prōiciō, equivalent to project + -ion. Compare the Modern French projection, the German Projektion, and the Italian proiezione.

I speak not here of Projection, whereby one part of an Aurifick Powder is said to turn I know not how many 100 or 1000 parts of an ignobler metal into silver or gold […]

1666, Robert Boyle, The Origine of Formes and Qualities […], page 365:

But yet I would that every one should understand me aright, and not count me so simple, as if I did liken or compare my Aurum Potabile with that great Stone of the Philosophers, which transmutes vast quantities of imperfect metals into most pure Gold by projection […]

1689, Johann Rudolf Glauber, translated by Christopher Packe, The Works of the Highly Experienced and Famous Chymist, John Rudolph Glauber […], page 216:

[Helmont] says, on another occasion, that an adept, after a few days of acquaintance, presented him with half a grain of the powder of projection, with which he transmuted nine ounces of quicksilver into pure gold.

1888, Arthur Edward Waite, Lives of Alchemystical Philosophers […], page 167:

(alchemy, obsolete) A supposed mechanism for the transmutation of large quantities of base metals.


aqua fortis

Learned borrowing from Latin aqua fortis (literally “strong water”).

lbor

aquafortis (alternative)
A.F. (alternative)

(alchemy) A corrosive liquor made of saltpeter, serving as a solvent for dissolving silver and all other metals except gold.

aqua fortis

a corrosive liquor made of saltpeter, serving as a solvent for dissolving silver and all other metals except gold


transmutation

en-noun

transmutation (countable and uncountable, plural transmutations)

Late 14th century, from Old French transmutacion (“transformation, metamorphosis”), from Late Latin transmutationem, from Latin transmutare (“to change”).

გარდაქმნა

the transformation of one element into another

The transmutation of metals was secondary to the main aim, which was the spiritual transformation of the adept.

1971, Keith Thomas, Religion and the Decline of Magic, Folio Society, published 2012, page 261:

(alchemy) Specifically, the supposed transformation of one element into another, especially of a base metal into gold.


xanthosis

en-noun

xanthosis (countable and uncountable, plural xanthoses)


tincture

The noun is derived from Late Middle English tincture (“a dye, pigment; a colour, hue, tint; process of colouring or dyeing; medicinal ointment or salve (perhaps one discolouring the skin); use of a medicinal tincture; (alchemy) transmutation of base metals into gold; ability to cause such transmutation; substance supposed to cause such transmutation”) [and other forms], borrowed from Latin tīnctūra (“act of dyeing”) + Middle English -ure (suffix indicating an action or a process and the means or result of that action or process). Tīnctūra is derived from tīnctus (“coloured, tinged; dipped in; impregnated with; treated”) + -tūra (suffix forming action nouns expressing activities or results); while tīnctus is the perfect passive participle of tingō (“to colour, dye, tinge; to dip (in), immerse; to impregnate (with); to moisten, wet; to smear”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *teng- (“to dip; to soak”). Doublet of tainture, teinture, and tinctura.
The verb is derived from the noun.

doublet

For vvhat is ſilke but eu'n a Quinteſſence, / Made vvithout hands beyond al humane ſenſe? / A quinteſſence? nay vvel it may be call'd, / A deathleſſe tincture, ſent vs from the skies, / VVhoſe colour ſtands, vvhose gloſſe is ne're appalld, […]

1599, T[homas] M[offett], The Silkewormes, and Their Flies: […], London: […] V[alentine] S[immes] for Nicholas Ling, […], →OCLC, pages 67–68:

An immaterial substance or spiritual principle which was thought capable of being instilled into physical things; also, the essence or spirit of something.

[T]he pureſt part [of the sap], as moſt apt and ready, recedes, vvith its due Tinctures, from the ſaid Cortical Body, to the Lignous. VVhich Lignous Body likevviſe ſuper-inducing its ovvn proper Tinctures into the ſaid Sap; […]

1671 December 17 (Gregorian calendar; indicated as 1672), Nehemiah Grew, “Of the Root”, in The Anatomy of Vegetables Begun. […], London: […] Spencer Hickman, printer to the R[oyal] Society, […], →OCLC, pages 52–53:

And I do perſvvade my ſelf, that the common Devv exhaled from ſome ſorts of Herbs or VVeeds, but eſpecially from the common Graſs, carries vvith it the Seminal Tincture of the Herb, vvhich being again deſcended by Devvs or Rain upon the bare and naked Earth, re-produceth the ſame Species: […]

a. 1677 (date written), Matthew Hale, “Concerning Vegetables, and Especially Insecta Animalia, whether Any of Them are Sponte Orta, or Arise Not rather Ex Præexistente Semine”, in The Primitive Origination of Mankind, Considered and Examined According to the Light of Nature, London: […] William Godbid, for William Shrowsbery, […], published 1677, →OCLC, section III, page 267:

A material essence thought to be capable of extraction from a substance.


Luna

From Middle English lune, luna (“the moon”), from Latin lūna/Lūna, from Proto-Indo-European *lówksneh₂. Doublet of Roxane.


Mars

From Middle English Mars, from Latin Mārs (“god of war”), from older Latin (older than 75 BCE) Māvors.


Mercury

Inherited from Middle English Mercurie, from Latin Mercurius.

(obsolete, alchemy, chemistry) Quicksilver, mercury. (No longer capitalized, as the name of the metal is no longer recognized as that of the planet.)


Sol

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-Sol.wav


magnum opus

en-noun

magnum opus (plural magna opera or magnum opuses or (nonstandard) magnum opi)

magna opera (plural)
magnum opuses (plural)
magnum opi (nonstandard plural)

Don Quixote
In Search of Lost Time
Marcel Proust
Miguel de Cervantes

/ˌmæɡnəm ˈəʊpəs/

(alchemy) The process of working with the prima materia to create the philosopher's stone.


alchemical

[Isaac Newton] was obsessed with alchemy. He spent hours copying alchemical recipes and trying to replicate them in his laboratory. He believed that the Bible contained numerological codes. The truth is that Newton was very much a product of his time.

2014 June 21, “Magician’s brain”, in The Economist, volume 411, number 8892:

(alchemy) Of or pertaining to the medieval chemical science and philosophy of alchemy.


archeus

From Ancient Greek ἀρχαῖος (arkhaîos, “original, ancient”).

uder

[…] it must be the Modus of some other Substance latitant in the fluid Matter, and really distinguishable from it; which is either the Soul, or some seminal Form or Archeus, as the Chymist calls it […]

1662, Henry More, An Antidote Against Atheism, Book II, A Collection of Several Philosophical Writings of Dr. Henry More, p. 68

Willis rejected not just scholasticism's ‘substantial forms’ but Paracelsus's ‘archeus’ doctrine as well.

2003, Roy Porter, Flesh in the Age of Reason, Penguin, published 2004, page 56:

But Paracelsus' theory of the archeus and the alchemy of life inevitably led him into deeper waters.

2006, Philip Ball, The Devil's Doctor, Arrow, published 2007, page 250:

(alchemy) The vital principle or force believed by the Paracelsians to be responsible for alchemical reactions within living bodies, and hence for the growth and continuation of life.

arqueu

the vital principle or force responsible for life


magistery

en-noun

magistery (countable and uncountable, plural magisteries)

/ˈmæd͡ʒɪstəɹi/

/ˈmæd͡ʒəˌstəɹi/

PIE word
 *méǵh₂s
From Middle English magisteri, magistery (“academic degree of Master”), from Latin magisterium (“office of a chief, director, president, or superintendent; teaching office or authority of the Roman Catholic Church; authoritative statement”) (compare Late Latin magisterium (“philosopher’s stone”)), from magister (“master (title for a person in authority or one having a licence from a university to teach liberal arts and philosophy); teacher”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *méǵh₂s (“big, great”) + *-teros (contrastive or oppositional suffix forming adjectives)) + -ium (suffix forming abstract nouns, sometimes denoting groups and offices). Doublet of magisterium. Cognate with French magistère, Old French magisteire.

der

[T]hey made proofe of the ſaid flowers dried, and this high magiſterie they found, That being beaten to pouder, they cured thoſe of the bloudie flix,^([sic – meaning flux]) vvho lay at the very point of death upon that diſeaſe; […]

1601, C[aius] Plinius Secundus [i.e., Pliny the Elder], “[Book XXXIII.] The Medicinable Vertues Considered in the Flowers, Leaves, Fruit, Boughs, Branches, Barke, Wood, Juice, Root, and Ashes of Many Trees of Severall Kinds.”, in Philemon Holland, transl., The Historie of the World. Commonly Called, The Naturall Historie of C. Plinius Secundus. […], 2nd tome, London: […] Adam Islip, →OCLC, page 165:

[…] I have been here long enough, if I were matter capable thereof, to be made the Philoſophers Stone, to be converted from VVater to Povvder, vvhich is the vvhole Magiſtery: I have been beſides, ſo long upon the Anvil, that methinks I am grovvn malleable, and hammer-proof: I am ſo habituated to hardſhip.

1645 March 5 (Gregorian calendar), James Howell, “XLIII. To Sir Levvis Dives, in the Tovver.”, in Epistolæ Ho-Elianæ. Familiar Letters Domestic and Forren. […], 3rd edition, volume II, London: […] Humphrey Mos[e]ley, […], published 1655, →OCLC, section VI, page 334:

This wanton Information being over, Daphnis, who had ſtill a Childish Pastorall mind, would presently be gone, and run up to Chloe, to have an experiment with her, how much he had profited by that magistery, as if indeed he had bin afraid lest staying but a little longer, he could forget to do his trick.

1657, Longus, “The Third Book”, in George Thornley, transl., Daphnis & Chloe […] (Abbey Classics; no. 13), London: Simpkin, Marshall, published 1924?, →OCLC, page 124:

But yet farther, Gain aſſurance of thy Peace with God in Chriſt, and conſequently of thy future Happineſs; and be frequent in the Contemplation and Improvement of it. This is the great Engine of a Chriſtian, a Magiſtery that was never attained by the moſt exquiſite Philoſopher, nor is attainable but in and by the knowledge of Chriſt, who brought Life and Immortality to light: […]

1676, Matthew Hale, “Of the Moderation of the Affections. [A Preparative against Afflictions; with Directions for Our Deportment under Them, and upon Our Delivery out of Them.]”, in Contemplations Moral and Divine. The Second Part, London: […] William Shrewsbury […], and Tho[mas] Leigh and D[aniel] Midwinter, […], published 1699, →OCLC, page 393:

Some elements were conquerors, some conquered; there existed preparations which possessed the power of changing the whole of a body of a substance of another kind: these were called magisteries.

[1837, William Whewell, “On the Mysticism of the Middle Ages”, in History of the Inductive Sciences, from the Earliest to the Present Times. […], volume I, London: John W[illiam] Parker, […]; Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: J. and J. J. Deighton, →OCLC, book IV (History of the Physical Sciences in the Middle Ages), pages 304–305:

A pure quality with the power to cure or to turn one substance into another; also, a substance such as a philosopher's stone able to turn one substance into another.

(obsolete) The product of such a transformation.


ens

From Late Latin ēns (“thing”), from esse (“to be”). See entity.

Here he states that there are five ‘active principles’ – the five Enses or entia – that influence our bodies and give rise to disease […]

2006, Philip Ball, The Devil's Doctor, Arrow, published 2007, page 245:

(chemistry, alchemy, now historical) Something supposed to condense within itself all the virtues and qualities of a substance from which it is extracted; an essence, an active principle.


leprous

en-adj

leprous (comparative more leprous, superlative most leprous)

more leprous (comparative)
most leprous (superlative)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-I learned some phrases-leprous.wav

From Middle English leprous (“having leprosy or a skin disease with symptoms like leprosy; (alchemy) of metals or minerals: impure; a leper”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman leprous, lepros [and other forms], Middle French lepros, lepreux, and Old French leprous, lepros (“having leprosy; a leper”) (modern French lépreux), and from their etymon Late Latin leprosus (“having leprosy; (alchemy) of metals: impure; a leper”), from Latin lepra (“leprosy”) + -ōsus (suffix meaning ‘full of; overly; prone to’ forming adjectives from nouns). Lepra is derived from Ancient Greek λέπρᾱ (léprā, “leprosy”), from λεπῐ́ς (lepĭ́s, “flake, scale; epithelial debris”) (perhaps from λέπω (lépō, “to peel, strip off a husk or rind”) + -ῐς (-ĭs, suffix forming feminine nouns)) + -ᾱ (-ā, suffix forming action nouns from verbs).

nb...

leperous, leperus, lepourous, lepres, lepris, lepros, leprose, leprouse, leprows, leprus, lepruse, leprys

leperous, leperus, leprus, lepuros, lieprous, lieprus

lepric

particularly with regard to the disease itself

(alchemy, historical) Of gold or other metals: contaminated with other substances; impure.


If thou wilt turne ♄ into ♃ make plates of ♄, ſtrow them with Salt Armoniack, cement, and melt them, as aboveſaid, ſo will all the blackneſſe, and darkneſſe bee taken away from the Lead, and it will be in whiteneſſe like fair Engliſh Tin.

1650, Paracelsus, “Of the Nature of Things”, in John French, transl., A New Light of Alchymie, page 74:


spagyrist

From modern Latin spagirista, from spagiricus (“alchemy”) (probably invented by Paracelsus).

It has, of late more particularly, assumed not only an unforbidding, but even an engaging form, by the facility with which many of its most important researches are now conducted, and by the extension of them to numerous objects which had not before been attended to by the old spagyrists.

1780, Francis de Wasserberg, “Chemical Institutions for the Use of Students”, in The Monthly Review, Or, Literary Journal, volume 63, page 502:

The Carmelite enjoyed the general amazement, and he told father and son how the secret of this substance had been revealed to him by an Arab; it was medicine far more powerful than the one Christian spagyrists called unguentum armarium.

1994, Umberto Eco, The Island of the Day Before, Harcourt Brace, published 1995, page 21:

Back when I was still a junior alchemist, passing through What Cheer, Iowa, met up with this old-school spagyrist name of Doddling, who showed me how to get silver to grow just like a tree.

2006, Thomas Pynchon, “Against the Day”, in Against the Day, New York, N.Y.: Penguin Press, →ISBN, page 1060:

(alchemy) An alchemist, especially one who tried to discover remedies for diseases.


calcine

en-verb

calcine (third-person singular simple present calcines, present participle calcining, simple past and past participle calcined)

calcines (present singular third-person)
calcining (participle present)
calcined (participle past)
calcined (past)
calcine (infinitive)
calcine (first-person present singular)
calcined (first-person past singular)
calcine (present second-person singular)
calcinest (archaic present second-person singular)
calcined (past second-person singular)
calcinedst (archaic past second-person singular)
calcines (present singular third-person)
calcineth (archaic present singular third-person)
calcined (past singular third-person)
calcine (plural present)
calcined (past plural)
calcine (present subjunctive)
calcined (past subjunctive)
calcine (imperative present)
calcining (participle present)
calcined (participle past)

The verb is derived from Late Middle English calcinen (“(alchemy, medicine) to heat (something) until it turns to powder; to change the nature of (something) by heating”) [and other forms], from Old French calciner (modern French calciner (“to calcinate; to calcine”)) and from its etymon Medieval Latin calcināre (“(alchemy) to burn like lime; to reduce to calx”), from Late Latin calcīna (“inorganic material containing calcium, lime”) + -āre (suffix forming present active infinitive forms of verbs). Calcīna is derived from Latin calcis, the genitive singular of calx (“chalk; limestone”), possibly from Ancient Greek χᾰ́λῐξ (khắlĭx, “small stone, pebble; gravel, rubble”); further etymology unknown, possibly Pre-Greek.
The noun is derived from the verb.

nb...

calcene, calcenen, calciene, calcyne, calsinen

der

(alchemy, historical) To heat (a substance) to remove its impurities and refine it.


But that the five leſſer, and impurer Metalls, viz. ♀ ♃ ♄ ♂ and ☿ may be tranſmuted into the greater, pureſt, and moſt perfect Metalls, viz. into ☉ and ☾, it cannot be done without the Tincture, or Philoſophers ſtone.

1650, Paracelsus, “Of the Nature of Things”, in John French, transl., A New Light of Alchymie, page 73:


spirit of wine

Inherited from Middle English spirit of wyn, calque of Latin spiritus vini.

inh+

(alchemy) Aqua vitae prepared by distilling wine.


aqua vitae

en-noun

aqua vitae (countable and uncountable, plural aquae vitae)

aquae vitae (plural)
aqua vitæ (alternative)

From Medieval Latin aqua vītae directly and via Middle English aqua vite and French eau-de-vie, from aqua (“water”) and vītae (“of life”). Doublet of aquavit and akvavit. Compare eau de vie, whisky, whiskey, and water of life from the same source.

(alchemy) An aqueous solution of alcohol typically prepared by distilling wine.


noble metal

(inorganic chemistry, alchemy) A metal resistant to corrosion, oxidizing and tarnishing, such as gold or platinum.


base metal

base metal (countable and uncountable, plural base metals)

(chiefly alchemy) one that was hoped to be transmuted into a precious metal.


potable gold

From potable + gold. From being something drinkable that is like gold.
* (alchemy): from being an elixir that confers the untarnishability and eternity of gold to a person

This tradition found its way to the West in the notion of ‘potable gold’ (aurum potabile), a medicine that, if drunk, would cure all manner of ills.

2002, Philip Ball, The Elements: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford, published 2004, page 60:

(alchemy) A theoretical substance which would confer eternal life on the drinker.


magisterium

magisterium (plural magisteriums or magisteria)

magisteriums (plural)
magisteria (plural)

From Latin magisterium (“office of a president, chief; magisterium”), from magister (“master”). Equivalent to magister + -ium. Doublet of magistery.

uder

This is the day I am to perfect for him / The magisterium, our great work, the stone.

1610 (first performance), Ben[jamin] Jonson, The Alchemist, London: […] Thomas Snodham, for Walter Burre, and are to be sold by Iohn Stepneth, […], published 1612, →OCLC, (please specify the Internet Archive page), (please specify the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):


cohobate

en-verb

cohobate (third-person singular simple present cohobates, present participle cohobating, simple past and past participle cohobated)

cohobates (present singular third-person)
cohobating (participle present)
cohobated (participle past)
cohobated (past)

From New Latin cohobātus, past participle of cohobāre, perhaps from Arabic كَعَّبَ (kaʕʕaba).

(physical chemistry, alchemy) To treat a material with a boiling liquid and repeatedly return the distillate.

предестилирам

to treat a material with a boiling liquid and repeatedly return the distillate


mysterium

/mɪˈstɪəɹɪəm/

Borrowed from Latin mystērium. Doublet of mystery.

There are many such mysteria: milk is a mysterium of cheese and butter, and cheese in turn a mysterium of maggots, which were thought to form spontaneously in rotting food.

2006, Philip Ball, The Devil's Doctor, Arrow, published 2007, page 263:

(chemistry, alchemy, now historical) Any of various unknown elements thought to make up existing forms of matter, or a substance seen as an elemental or pure form of something else.


rebis

From Latin rēs (“matter”) + Latin bīna (“double”).

af

While the rebis is the final form of alchemical variability, the larger process of alchemy looked to mercury as both the agent and patient of transformative possibilities.

2023, Micah James Goodrich, “Trans Animacies and Premodern Alchemies”, in Medieval Mobilities: Gendered Bodies, Spaces, and Movements, page 214:

(alchemy, fiction) The end product of the alchemical magnum opus, a reunion of opposing qualities such as spirit and matter or male and female, represented by an androgynous being.


rubedo

(alchemy) A "reddening" process, the fourth and final major stage of the alchemical magnum opus.


nigredo

(alchemy) A process of putrefaction or decomposition, one of the four major stages of the alchemical magnum opus.


caput mortuum

Unadapted borrowing from Latin caput mortuum (literally “dead head”).

ubor

(alchemy) Worthless residue of sublimation or distillation.


leprosity

en-noun

leprosity (countable and uncountable, plural leprosities)

From Middle English leprosite, from Medieval Latin leprositas (“state of being leprous, leprosy”) either directly or via French leprosite, from leprōsus (“leprous”) + -itas (“-ity”).

der

The purpose of physical alchemy—as opposed to its various spiritual pursuits—was to treat the leprosity of base metals such as lead, refining and purifying them into gold.

(alchemy, of metals) The supposed impurity or impurities of various metals, understood as causing their deviation from gold.


chrysopoeia

/kɹɪsəˈpiːə/

Derived from Ancient Greek χρυσοποιία (khrusopoiía).

der+

Actually, in the beginning, Toledo himself was as bent on reperforming the chrysopoeia as anyone. He was driven by greed, more than the hunger for discovery and glory, which is what drove our father.

Cassanda Ryan, The Kingdom of Sagely - Legacy of a Dragoness (page 262)


inceration

en-noun

inceration (countable and uncountable, plural incerations)

From Latin incerare (“to smear with wax”), from in- (“in”) + cerare (“to wax”), from cera (“wax”). Compare French incération.

- He has his white shirt on?
- Yes, sir,
He's ripe for inceration: he stands warm
In his ash-fire.

(alchemy) The act of smearing or covering with wax.


dephlegmate

en-verb

dephlegmate (third-person singular simple present dephlegmates, present participle dephlegmating, simple past and past participle dephlegmated)

dephlegmates (present singular third-person)
dephlegmating (participle present)
dephlegmated (participle past)
dephlegmated (past)

(physical chemistry, alchemy, dated) To deprive of superabundant water, as by evaporation or distillation; to clear of aqueous matter; to rectify; used of spirits and acids.


melanosis

en-noun

melanosis (countable and uncountable, plural melanoses)

black cancer

see the citation from 1882 in The Cincinnati Enquirer


chrysosperm

From Ancient Greek χρυσός (khrusós, “gold”) + σπέρμα (spérma, “seed, semen”), equivalent to chryso- + sperm.

Of your elixir, your lac Virginis, Your stone, your med'cine , and your chrysosperm

How sir! When you have not tried my chrysosperm and marchesyte?

1857, Thomas (of Swarraton, armiger, pseud.), The Noble Traytour, page 232:

This substance was the original principle of all matter, the alpha and omega, the general solvent, the universal menstruum, the mighty mastery, the great king, the fiery tincture, the helmeted hero, the bird of Hermes, the seal of Solomon, the powder of projection, the chrysosperm, the subject of the sages, the flower of the sun, the elemental soul, the perfect ruby, the red hyacinth, the fire of nature, the water of life, in a word, the philosopher's stone.

1893, “The Black Art”, in The Pall Mall Magazine, volume 1, page 54:

For our most excellent celestial fixed water will open up the fiery volatile body and draw out a secret running white sulphur which the philosophers call chrysosperm ['gold seed'], that is, the soul of the metals.

2007, Patrick Harpur, Mercurius, Or, the Marriage of Heaven & Earth, page 165:

(alchemy, obsolete) The seed of gold; an alchemical means of creating gold.


cibation

cibation (countable and uncountable, plural cibations)

From Latin cibatio, from cibare (“to feed”).

fermentation and cibation

(obsolete, alchemy) The operation of feeding the contents of the crucible with fresh material.


chalcanthum

Borrowed from French calcante or Latin chalcanthum.

(alchemy, obsolete) Copper(II) sulfate (CuSO₄).


water

water (countable and uncountable, plural waters)

waters (plural)
wahter (alternative)
wahtuh (alternative)

desc

Antigua and Barbuda Creole English: wata

Aukan: wataa

Australian Kriol: woda

Belizean Creole: waata

Bislama: wota

Cameroon Pidgin: wata

Grenadian Creole English: wata

Gullah: wata

Islander Creole English: waata

Jamaican Creole: wata

Krio: wata

Nicaraguan Creole: wáta

Pichinglis: wàtá

Pijin: wata

Pitcairn-Norfolk: worta

Saramaccan: wáta

Sranan Tongo: watra

Tok Pisin: wara

→ American Sign Language: 6@Chin

→ Catalan: vàter

→ Spanish: váter

Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *wed-
Proto-Indo-European *-r̥
Proto-Indo-European *wódr̥
Proto-Germanic *watōr
Proto-West Germanic *watar
Old English wæter
Middle English water
English water
From Middle English water, from Old English wæter (“water”), from Proto-West Germanic *watar, from Proto-Germanic *watōr (“water”), from Proto-Indo-European *wódr̥ (“water”).
Cognates
Cognate with cf, North Frisian weeter (“water”), Saterland Frisian Woater (“water”), West Frisian wetter (“water”), Dutch water (“water”), Low German Water (“water”), German Wasser, Old Norse vatn (Swedish vatten (“water”), Danish vand (“water”), Norwegian Bokmål vann (“water”), Norwegian Nynorsk and Icelandic vatn (“water”), Old Irish coin fodorne (“otters”, literally “water-dogs”), Latin unda (“wave”), Lithuanian vanduõ (“water”), Russian вода́ (vodá, “water”), Albanian ujë (“water”), Ancient Greek ὕδωρ (húdōr, “water”), Armenian գետ (get, “river”), Sanskrit उदन् (udán, “wave, water”), Hittite 𒉿𒀀𒋻 (wa-a-tar).

cog

Northern England, dated; obsolete elsewhere

couldn't pour water out of a boot with the instructions on the heel

every miller draws water to his own mill

the mill cannot grind with water that is past

you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink

you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink

you can lead horses to water, but you can't make them drink

you don't miss the water till the well runs dry

you never miss the water till the well runs dry

you never miss the water until the well runs dry

He showed me the river of living water, sparkling like crystal, flowing from the throne of God.

(alchemy, philosophy) The aforementioned liquid, considered one of the Classical elements or basic elements of alchemy.


aquila alba

(obsolete, alchemy) calomel, or various other substances


Adamic earth

From the spiritual substance said to have formed Adam, the first man, in the kabbalistic tradition; symbolically, the clay of Genesis.

This is the Created Aleph, the true Adamic Earth⁵—the basis of every building in heaven and earth. [Waite: ⁵ Terra Adama, the sophic, spiritual earth, of which the first man was made—according to the Zohar. Thereon also the Temple was built in Zion. It is red, veined earth, after the manner of a pomegranate.]

1648, Thomas Vaughan, Anthroposophia Theomagica […]; republished as Arthur Edward Waite, editor, The Works of Thomas Vaughan: Eugenius Philalethes, 1919, page 27:

For the preparation of the philosopher’s stone the first requisite was the raw material, the Adamic earth, virgin earth, which is indeed to be found everywhere, but its discovery is dependent on certain conditions known to the initiated alone. “When we have once obtained this,” says Isaacus Hollandus, “the preparation of the stone is only a labour fit for women, or child’s play.[…]”

1851, Justus von Liebig, “Letter III”, in Familiar Letters on Chemistry […], 3rd edition, pages 34–5:

The end was more arduous and sublime; it was a question of recovering the adamic earth, which is the coagulated blood of the vital earth; and the supreme dream of philosophers was to accomplish the work of Prometheus by imitating the work of God […]

1913 [1860], Éliphas Lévi, translated by Arthur Edward Waite, Magic: A History of Its Rites, Rituals and Mysteries, page 204:

“The old theory of Adamic Earth is proven true. That earth is Adamic Earth. Earth as it was when God first made the earth in six days—before man was. […] It has power by fermentation to change all baser metals to gold.[…]”

(alchemy) The primordial substance of corporeal matter, said to be closely related to the philosopher’s stone and symbolically identified as “red earth” or sometimes other substances.


philosopher's wool

From philosopher (“(obsolete) an alchemist”) + -’s + wool.

compound

(alchemy, archaic) Zinc oxide (chemical formula ZnO) as a white flocculent powder.


sympathetic powder

en-noun

sympathetic powder (countable and uncountable, plural sympathetic powders)

powder of sympathy
powder of sympathy#English

(alchemy, historical) Synonym of powder of sympathy


It is of a Strange and wonderful Origin, it has inexhaustible properties, it is neither hot nor dry like 🜂, nor Cold nor humid like 🜄, nor Cold nor dry like 🜃, but it is a mixture of all the Elements;

1797, Sigismund Bacstrom, transl., Chemical Moon-Shine: Wherein is Demonstrated the True Subject of Philosophy, Where We are to Look for it, & How it is to be Prepared:


Edward he sayth that the Philosophers doe write of two 🜍rs & to them two ☿es joyned, & these are Red most pure & white.

c. 1653-1656, George Starkey, translated by William R. Newman, Lawrence M. Principe, Alchemical Laboratory Notebooks and Correspondence, University of Chicago Press, published 2004, page 250:


When the 🜔 of Wisdom or Lapis philosophorum has passed its 7 Imbibitions and is thorougly^([sic]) fixed, take thereof One part and three parts of pure ☉ and let them melt together in a good 🝥, with a Lid luted on, and Keep it in fusion during 3 or 4 days in the 🜂, and the added ☉ will become brittle and glassy and become the metallic tinging Medicine.

(alchemy) Alternative spelling of crucible


leucosis

leucosis (countable and uncountable, plural leucoses)

leucoses (plural)
leukosis (alternative)


supergression

supergression (countable and uncountable, plural supergressions)

And soe with long leasure it will waste, / And not with bubbling made in haste: / For doubt of perrills many more then one, / And for supergression of our stone.

16th C., Thomas Norton, Ordinall (in Ashmole's Theatrum Chemicum Brittanicum):


mock silver

Compare modern Greek ψευδάργυρος (psevdárgyros, “zinc”).

cog

(obsolete, alchemy) A metal known to the ancients, possibly zinc.


Bologna stone

Bologna stones (plural)
Bolognian stone (alternative)

Specimens were found near Bologna in the 17th century by Vincenzo Casciarolo.

It was concerned with the causes of the phosphorescence of the so-called 'Bologna stone' (a mineral named by the author of the book with the more imposing term of litheosphorus).

2013, Marco Piccolino, Galileo's Visions: Piercing the spheres of the heavens by eye and mind:

(alchemy) The phosphorescent form of baryte.


white snow

Calque of Latin nix (“snow”) used for white forms of zinc oxide.

(alchemy, obsolete) Synonym of zinc oxide, particularly white forms.


prima materia

From Latin prīma māteria (“first matter”).

The alchemist's initial encounter with the prima materia is characterized by feelings of frustration, bewilderment, disassociation and disintegration.

1976, Johannes Fabricius, Alchemy: The Medieval Alchemists and Their Royal Art:

(alchemy) The primitive formless base of all matter, which is the starting material required for the magnum opus and the creation of the philosopher's stone.


citrinitas

(alchemy) A "yellowing" process, one of the four major stages of the alchemical magnum opus.


iosis

From Ancient Greek ἴωσις (íōsis), from ἰός (iós, “rust”).

(alchemy) Synonym of rubedo (“reddening process in the alchemical magnum opus”)


liver of antimony

From a supposed resemblance to the color of animals' livers.

CHEWING-BALLS, a kind of balls made of aſafœtida, liver of antimony, bay-wood, juniper-wood, and pellitory of Spain; which being dried in the ſun, and wrapped in a linen-cloth, are tied to the bit of the bridle for the horſe to chew: they create an appetite; and it is ſaid, that balls of Venice treacle may be uſed in the ſame manner with good ſucceſs.

1771, Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1st ed., volume II, page 183:

The crocus metallorum, or liver of antimony, was a violent cathartic and emetic.

The Lexicon Technicum... refers to ‘Crocus Metallorum’ or Liver of Antimony made by firing equal parts of powder of antimony and saltpetre.

2000, Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, number 90, page 31:

antimony sulfide
antimony sulfide#English

(alchemy, obsolete chemistry) Synonym of antimony sulfide.


solifaction

From Sol, from the identification of gold as the planetary metal of the Sun. Compare Latin sōlificātiō, sōlificus.

Nota quoque, quod ☿ ex 🜵 non fit sine sequestratione 🜍is Combustibilis Copiosi, Ergo & hoc ad Solificationem & Lunificationem sequestrari convenit.

2004 [c. 1653-1656], George Starkey, translated by William R. Newman, Lawrence M. Principe, Alchemical Laboratory Notebooks and Correspondence, University of Chicago Press, page 204:


universal solvent

en-noun

universal solvent (plural universal solvents)

(alchemy) The alkahest, a theorized substance that would be able to dissolve any other substance.


♄ine

And hence sayth he mayst thou draw a great secret that the water of ♄ine antimony ought to be ☿all & white, &c.

c. 1653-1656, George Starkey, translated by William R. Newman, Lawrence M. Principe, Alchemical Laboratory Notebooks and Correspondence, University of Chicago Press, published 2004, page 260:


☿ial

make a light dew of ☿ial vapour arise.

c. 1653-1656, George Starkey, translated by William R. Newman, Lawrence M. Principe, Alchemical Laboratory Notebooks and Correspondence, University of Chicago Press, published 2004, page 24:


filius philosophorum

Latin filius philosophorum (literally “philosophers' child”)