Alch. Also acanor; and in 5 athenor, 7 athanar. [ad. Arab. at-tannūr, i.e., at = al the, tannūr furnace, according to Dozy, a. Heb. or Aramaic tannūr, f. root nūr fire. Also in Fr. athanor, Sp. atanor, pipe of a fountain.] A digesting furnace used by the alchemists, in which a constant heat was maintained by means of a tower which provided a self-feeding supply of charcoal. Also fig.
1471. Ripley, Comp. Alch. (Ashm. 1652), v. 149. Thy Fornace … Whych wyse men do call Athenor.
1610. B. Jonson, Alch., II. iii. In the lent heat of Athanor.
1651. Biggs, New Disp., § 141. They are not therefore digested in the Athanor of our Œconomy.
1752. Johnson, Rambl., No. 199, ¶ 3. I have sat whole weeks without sleep by the side of an athanor, to watch the moment of projection.
1863. Watts, Dict. Chem., I. 430.
