English Dictionary: Hermetic | by the DICT Development Group |
2 results for Hermetic | |
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]: | |
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From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: | |
Hermetic \Her*met"ic\, Hermetical \Her*met"ic*al\, a. [F. herm[82]tique. See Note under {Hermes}, 1.] 1. Of, pertaining to, or taught by, Hermes Trismegistus; as, hermetic philosophy. Hence: Alchemical; chemic. [bd]Delusions of the hermetic art.[b8] --Burke. The alchemists, as the people were called who tried to make gold, considered themselves followers of Hermes, and often called themselves Hermetic philosophers. --A. B. Buckley. 2. Of or pertaining to the system which explains the causes of diseases and the operations of medicine on the principles of the hermetic philosophy, and which made much use, as a remedy, of an alkali and an acid; as, hermetic medicine. 3. Made perfectly close or air-tight by fusion, so that no gas or spirit can enter or escape; as, an hermetic seal. See Note under {Hermetically}. {Hermetic art}, alchemy. {Hermetic books}. (a) Books of the Egyptians, which treat of astrology. (b) Books which treat of universal principles, of the nature and orders of celestial beings, of medicine, and other topics. |