alchemy definition | Dictionary.com

al⋅che⋅my

[al-kuh-mee]

–noun, plural -mies for 2.

1.	a form of chemistry and speculative philosophy practiced in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance and concerned principally with discovering methods for transmuting baser metals into gold and with finding a universal solvent and an elixir of life.

2.	any magical power or process of transmuting a common substance, usually of little value, into a substance of great value.

Origin:
1325–1375; earlier alchimie < OF alquemie < ML alchymia < Ar al the + kīmiyā' < Gk kēmeía transmutation; r. ME alconomye, equiv. to alk(imie) + (astr)onomye astronomy

Related forms:

al⋅chem⋅ic [al-kem-ik]

, al⋅chem⋅i⋅cal, al⋅che⋅mis⋅tic [al-kuh-mis-tik]

, al⋅che⋅mis⋅ti⋅cal, adjective

al⋅chem⋅i⋅cal⋅ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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al·che·my (āl'kə-mē)

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.
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).

[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).]
al·chem'i·cal (āl-kěm'ĭ-kəl), al·chem'ic adj., al·chem'i·cal·ly adv.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Alchemy

Al"che*my\, n. [OF. alkemie, arquemie, F. alchimie, Ar. al-k[=i]m[=i]a, fr. late Gr. ?, for ?, a mingling, infusion, ? juice, liquid, especially as extracted from plants, fr. ? to pour; for chemistry was originally the art of extracting the juices from plants for medicinal purposes. Cf. Sp. alquimia, It. alchimia. Gr. ? is prob. akin to L. fundere to pour, Goth. guitan, AS. ge['o]tan, to pour, and so to E. fuse. See Fuse, and cf. Chemistry.]

1. An imaginary art which aimed to transmute the baser metals into gold, to find the panacea, or universal remedy for diseases, etc. It led the way to modern chemistry.

2. A mixed metal composed mainly of brass, formerly used for various utensils; hence, a trumpet. [Obs.]

Put to their mouths the sounding alchemy. --Milton.

3. Miraculous power of transmuting something common into something precious.

Kissing with golden face the meadows green, Gilding pale streams with heavenly alchemy. --Shak.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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alchemy [(al-kuh-mee)]

A science (no longer practiced) that sought to transform one chemical element into another through a combination of magic and primitive chemistry. Alchemy is considered to be the ancestor of modern chemistry.

Note: The search for the philosopher's stone that would change lead and other base metals into gold was part of alchemy.

Note: Today, alchemy is associated with wizards, magic, and the search for arcane knowledge.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source

alchemy

1362, from O.Fr. alkemie, from M.L. alkimia, from Arabic al-kimiya, from Gk. khemeioa (found c.300 C.E. in a decree of Diocletian against "the old writings of the Egyptians"), all meaning "alchemy." Perhaps from an old name for Egypt (Khemia, lit. "land of black earth," found in Plutarch), or from Gk. khymatos "that which is poured out," from khein "to pour," related to khymos "juice, sap." The word seems to have elements of both origins.

"Mahn ... concludes, after an elaborate investigation, that Gr. khymeia was probably the original, being first applied to pharmaceutical chemistry, which was chiefly concerned with juices or infusions of plants; that the pursuits of the Alexandrian alchemists were a subsequent development of chemical study, and that the notoriety of these may have caused the name of the art to be popularly associated with the ancient name of Egypt." [OED]

The al- is the Arabic definite article, "the." The art and the name adopted by the Arabs from Alexandrians and thence returned to Europe via Spain. Alchemy was the "chemistry" of the Middle Ages and early modern times, since c.1600 applied distinctively to the pursuit of the transmutation of baser metals into gold, which, along with the search for the universal solvent and the panacea, were the chief occupations of early chemistry.

Main Entry: al·che·my
Pronunciation: 'al-k&-mE
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural -mies
: the medieval chemicalscience and speculative philosophy whose aims were the transmutation of the base metals into gold, the discovery of a universal cure for diseases, and the discovery of a means of indefinitelyprolonging life —al·che·mist /-m&st/ noun —al·che·mis·tic /"al-k&-'mis-tik/ or al·che·mis·ti·cal /-ti-k&l/ adjective

alchemy (āl'kə-mē) Pronunciation Key
A medieval philosophy and early form of chemistry whose aims were the transmutation of base metals into gold, the discovery of a cure for all diseases, and the preparation of a potion that gives eternal youth. The imagined substance capable of turning other metals into gold was called the philosophers' stone.

Our Living Language : Because their goals were so unrealistic, and because they had so little success in achieving them, the practitioners of alchemy in the Middle Ages got a reputation as fakers and con artists. But this reputation is not fully deserved. While they never succeeded in turning lead into gold (one of their main goals), they did make discoveries that helped to shape modern chemistry. Alchemists invented early forms of some of the laboratory equipment used today, including beakers, crucibles, filters, and stirring rods. They also discovered and purified a number of chemical elements, including mercury, sulfur, and arsenic. And the methods they developed to separate mixtures and purify compounds by distillation and extraction are still important.

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