alchemy

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The origin of the word alchemy is frequently disputed.

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Definitions (9)

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  1. noun A medieval chemical philosophy having as its asserted aims the transmutation of base metals into gold, the discovery of the panacea, and the preparation of the elixir of longevity.
  2. noun A seemingly magical power or process of transmuting: "He wondered by what alchemy it was changed, so that what sickened him one hour, maddened him with hunger the next” (Marjorie K. Rawlings).

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Words tagged alchemy

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Etymologies (2)

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  1. Middle English alkamie, from Old French alquemie, from Medieval Latin alchymia, from Arabic al-kīmiyā' : al-, the + kīmiyā', chemistry (from Late Greek khēmeia, khumeia, perhaps from Greek Khēmia, Egypt).

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  1. Early modern English also alchymy, alcumy, alcomy, alcamy, alkimy, etc., from Middle English alkamye; also alknamye, alkenamye, alcamyne, and hence alconomie, alconomy, alconomye (simulating astronomy); from Old French alkemie, also assibilated alchemie (modern F. alchimie), also arkemie, arquemie, = Provencal alkimia = Spanish Portuguese alquimia (Portuguese also alchimia) = Italian alchimia, from Middle Latin alchimia, alchymia, from Middle Greek ἀρχημία, from Arabic alkīmīa, from al, the (see al-), + kīmīa, from Middle Greek χημεία also χημία alchemy, defined by Suidas as ἡτοῦ ἀργυροῦκαι\ χρυσοῦ κατασκευή, i. e., the preparation of silver and gold. Joannes Antiochenus says that Diocletian burned the books of the Egyptians περι\ χημίας ἀργυροῦ και\ χρυσοῦ, i. e., concerning the transmutation of silver and gold; hence the name has been identified with Χημία, the Greek form of Khmi, the native name of Egypt, literally ‘black earth’; but χημία is prob. for χυμεία, a mingling, an infusion, from χυμός, juice especially juice of plants (later English chyme, q. v.), from χέειν, pour, akin to L. fundere = Anglo-Saxon geótan, pour, and to English gush. Alchemy would thus be originally the art of extracting juices from plants for medicinal purposes.
 

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/ˈælkɛmi/
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