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Description of an Alembic

The complete distilling apparatus consists of three parts: the “cucurbit” (Arabic ḳarʿa, Greek βίκος), the still pot containing the liquid to be distilled, which is heated by a flame; the “head” or “cap” (Arabic anbiḳ, Greek ἄμβιξ) which fits over the mouth of the cucurbit to receive the vapors, with an attached downward-sloping “tube” (Greek σωλήν), leading to the “receiver”...