alchemy
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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English [edit]
Etymology [edit]
From Old French alkimie, arquemie (French alchimie), from Medieval Latin alkimia, from Arabic الكيمياء (al-kīmiyā’), ال (al, “the”) + from Ancient Greek χημεία or χυμεία (chēmeia or chymeia) originally “a mingling, infusion, juice, liquid, especially as extracted from plants” and later “alchemy”, perhaps from Χημία (Chēmia, “black earth (ancient name for Egypt)”) and/or χυμός (chymos, “juice, sap”). (Compare Spanish alquimia and Italian alchimia).
Pronunciation [edit]
Noun [edit]
alchemy (countable and uncountable; plural alchemies)
- (uncountable) The ancient search for a universal panacea, and of the philosopher's stone, that eventually developed into chemistry.
- (countable) The causing of any sort of mysterious sudden transmutation.
- (computing, slang, countable) Any elaborate transformation process or algorithm.
Derived terms [edit]
Translations [edit]
ancient chemistry
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causing of mysterious transmutation
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Translations to be checked
See also [edit]
References [edit]
- alchemy in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
- “alchemy” in Douglas Harper, Online Etymology Dictionary (2001).
