An impure zinc oxide that forms as a sublimate in zinc smelting furnaces, historically used in medicine and alchemy. It appears as a grayish or yellowish powder with various medicinal applications.
From Arabic tūtiyā, referring to this zinc compound used in Islamic medicine and alchemy. The word entered Medieval Latin as tutia, then passed into various European languages and English by the 14th century. The Arabic term reflects the advanced metallurgical and medical knowledge of Islamic scholars who studied zinc compounds.
Tutty was medieval medicine's zinc supplement - Arab physicians used it to treat eye infections and wounds centuries before anyone understood why zinc was medically beneficial! Modern medicine has confirmed that many of their traditional uses were actually scientifically sound.
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