Crossword Dictionary

What's The Definition Of Hermetic?

\Her*met"ic\, Hermetical \Her*met"ic*al\, a. [F. herm['e]tique. See Note under {Hermes}, 1.] 1. Of, pertaining to, or taught by, Hermes Trismegistus; as, hermetic philosophy. Hence: Alchemical; chemic. ``Delusions of the hermetic art.'' --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.