Also 6 Venysse, Venise, Ven(i)ys, Vennys, Venes, 7 Vennis, Venis. Also VENUS2. [a. F. Venise:—L. Venetia (It. Venezia, Sp. Venecia, Pg. Veneza): see def.]
1. The name of the city (the capital of the province of the same name) in the north-east of Italy, used attrib. to designate various articles made there or having some connection with the locality, as Venice looking-glass, paper, point (lace), tinsel, vial, work, etc. (Cf. VENETIAN a. 2.)
† Venice beam: see ROMAN a.1 15. Venice blue (see quot.). Venice crown, Her. (see quot.). Venice gold, silver (cf. GOLD sb. 4, SILVER sb. 4). Venice lac (see LAC1 2, quot. 1763). Venice soap (see quots.). † Venice sumach, Venetian sumach. Venice talc, white (see quots.).
1611. Cotgr., Traineau à plommée,… Roman, or *Venice beame, for the weighing of things.
1598. Florio, Veneto, a light or *Venice blew, a Turkie colour.
c. 1828. Berry, Encycl. Her., I. Gloss., *Venice Crown, the crown, or cap of state, worn by the Doge, is made of cloth of gold,… covered with precious stones, and having two long ears, or lappets, pointed at the ends, hanging down at the sides.
1506. Paston Lett., III. 404. The [horse-] harnes of *Venys gold.
1520–1. Rec. St. Mary at Hill (1905), 310. Item, paid for a vnce of venes golde iijs viijd.
1535. Wardr. Kath. Arragon, 26, in Camden Misc., III. Fringid withe grene silke and Venysse golde.
1558. in Feuillerat, Revels Q. Eliz. (1908), 40. viii Aperns of white gowlde sarsnet edged with veniys gowlde frenge.
1821. Scott, Kenilw., ii. Her hat … being of tawny taffeta, embroidered with scorpions of Venice gold.
c. 1645. Howell, Lett. (1655), IV. 43. A new *Venice Looking-Glasse, wherin you may behold that admired Maiden-Citty in her true complexion.
1848. Thackeray, Van. Fair, lxiv. The great Venice looking-glasses, framed in silver.
a. 1661. Fuller, Worthies, Cambridge, I. (1662), 149. To such who object that we can never equall the perfection of *Venice-paper.
1882. Caulfeild & Saward, Dict. Needlework, 513/1. The fine Needlepoints made at Brussels … were worn … in preference to the heavier *Venice Points.
1883. Mag. of Art, Dec., 66/2. Louis XIV. had a passion for Venice point.
1574. in Feuillerat, Revels Q. Eliz. (1908), 234. Ritchly wroughte with *venys sylver.
1842. Penny Cycl., XXII. 171/1. White soda soap … in a less pure state is called Alicant, *Venice, or Spanish soap.
1858. Simmonds, Dict. Trade, Venice-soap, a mottled soap made with olive-oil and soda, with a little sulphate of iron in solution, or sulphate of zinc.
1597. Gerarde, Herbal, 1293. The first is called Coggygria and Coccygria: in English *Venice Sumach, or Silken Sumach.
1728. Bradley, Dict. Bot., s.v. Rhus, The Venice Sumach, or Coggygria, sive Colinus Coriaria.
1867. Chambers’s Encycl., IX. 109/1. Steatite, or Soap-stone,… is sold … under the names of Briançon Chalk, French Chalk, and *Venice Talc.
1547. in Feuillerat, Revels Edw. VI. (1914), 23. Tilsent [= tinsel] whyte and *venice.
1697. T. Brown, Dispensary, II. Wks. 1709, III. III. 77. My cordials are all put into *Venice Vials.
1839. Ure, Dict. Arts & Manuf., 1298. When white lead is mixed in equal quantities with ground sulphate of barytes, it is known in France and Germany by the name of *Venice white.
1860. Chambers’s Encycl., VI. 722/1. Venice White contains 1 part of Baryta, and 1 part of White Lead.
1555. Eden, Decades (Arb.), 257. They esteeme nothyng more precious then drynkyng glasses of *Venice woorke.
2. a. Venice glass, (a) a very fine and delicate kind of glass, originally manufactured at Murano, near Venice; (b) an article made of this, esp. a drinking vessel or vial; (c) a Venetian mirror.
The extreme brittleness of vessels made of this glass is freq. alluded to in the 17th century.
(a) 1527. Andrew, Brunswyke’s Distyll. Waters, A ij b. They must be made of venys glasse bycause they sholde the better withstande the hete of the fyre.
a. 1583. in Halliwell, Rara Mathem. (1841), 41. Then they must prepare very cleare and white Glasse…; as fyne and white Vennys Glasse.
1626. Bacon, Sylva, § 770. The Crystalline Venice Glass is reported to be a mixture, in equal portions, of Stones brought from Pavia, by the River Ticinum, and the Ashes of a Weed called by the Arabs, Kall.
1673. A. Walker, Leez Lachrymans, 13. Their Venice-glass … cracks with as slight a blow as pots of courser clay.
(b) 1587. Harrison, England, II. vi., in Holinshed, I. 166/2. As for drinke it is vsuallie filled in … bols of siluer in noble mens houses, also in fine Venice glasses of all formes.
1591. Sylvester, Du Bartas, I. ii. 72. In a Venice Glass before our eyne, We see the Water intermix with Wine.
1620. Gataker, Marriage Duties, 41. The more britle a Venice glasse is, the more gingerly we handle it.
1669. Boyle, Cert. Physiol. Ess., etc. (ed. 2), Absol. Rest Bodies, 22. Having enquired of a famous and experienced Maker of Telescopes, as well as of those that use such Instruments, whether he did not observe that the Venice-Glasses he employed would sometimes crack of themselves whilst they were yet in Plates. Ibid. (1688), On Death, in Jane Barker, Poet. Recreations, II. 44. Life is a Bubble;… Tis far more brittle than a Venice-Glass.
(c) 1850. Mrs. Browning, Sonn. fr. Portug., ix. I will not … breathe my poison on thy Venice-glass.
1852. Thackeray, Esmond, I. ix. On which poor Lady Castlewood gave a rueful smile, and a look into a little Venice glass she had.
b. Venice treacle, in old pharmacy, an electuary composed of many ingredients and supposed to possess universal alexipharmic and preservative properties. Cf. TREACLE sb. 1 c. Now arch.
Also occas. called treacle of Venice.
1612. Woodall, Surg. Mate, Wks. (1653), 95. A little Venice Triacle or other Triacle.
1635. J. Taylor (Water P.), Life Thomas Parr, C 3. And Garlick hee esteem’d above the rate Of Venice-Triacle, or best Mithridate.
1691. T. H[ale], Acc. New Invent., p. xxv. And as well may we be afraid to take the Venice Treacle, because of its being long kept in boxes of Lead.
c. 1720. W. Gibson, Farrier’s Dispens., III. (1721), 146. Venice Treacle. This is also called the Theriaca, or Treacle of Andromachus.
1753. J. Bartlet, Gentl. Farriery, xlii. (1754), 323. Internally, for bites from vipers, may be given cordial medicines, such as Venice treacle and salt of hartshorn.
1797. Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3), XVI. 573/2. The Muscovites at all times reject as impure … rabbit, ass’s milk, mare’s milk, and Venice-treacle.
1821. Scott, Kenilw., xiii., footnote. Orvietan, or Venice treacle, as it was sometimes called, was understood to be a sovereige remedy against poison.
c. Venice turpentine (see quots. c. 1789, 1800, and TURPENTINE sb. 1 b).
1577. Frampton, Joyful News, 45. Adde therto three ounces of Venise Turpentine.
1736. Bailey, Househ. Dict., s.v. Ague, Mix the powder of white Hellebore roots with right Venice Turpentine.
c. 1789. Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3), IV. 567/1. The kind now called Venice turpentine, is no other than a mixture of eight parts of common yellow or black rosin with five parts of oil of turpentine. What was originally Venice turpentine is now unknown.
1800. E. Darwin, Phytol., vi. 84. Thus what is called Venice turpentine is obtained from the larch by wounding the bark about two feet from the ground, and catching it as it exsudes.
1846. J. Baxter, Libr. Pract. Agric. (ed. 4), II. 278. The ointment is made as follows:—Quicksilver, 1 lb.; Venice Turpentine, 1/2 lb.
1857. Miller, Elem. Chem., Org., 503. The common varnish used for oil paintings and maps consists of 24 parts of mastic, 3 of Venice turpentine, and 1 of camphor.
