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alembic - 5 dictionary results

a⋅lem⋅bic

[uh-lem-bik]
–noun
1. a vessel with a beaked cap or head, formerly used in distilling.
2. anything that transforms, purifies, or refines.

Origin:
1350–1400; ME, var. of alambic < ML alambicus < dial. Ar al the anbīq still < Gk ámbix cup
a·lem·bic   (ə-lěm'bĭk)   
n.  
  1. An apparatus consisting of two vessels connected by a tube, formerly used for distilling liquids.
  2. A device that purifies or alters by a process comparable to distillation.

[Middle English alambic, from Old French, from Medieval Latin alembicus, from Arabic al-'anbīq : al-, the + 'anbīq, still (from Greek ambix, cup).]

Alembic

A*lem"bic\ ([.a]*l[e^]m"b[i^]k), n. [F. alambic (cf. Sp. alambique), Ar. al-anb[=i]q, fr. Gr. 'a`mbix cup, cap of a still. The cap or head was the alembic proper. Cf. Limbec.] An apparatus formerly used in distillation, usually made of glass or metal. It has mostly given place to the retort and worm still.

Note: Used also metaphorically.

The alembic of a great poet's imagination. --Brimley.

alembic 
c.1374, from M.Fr. alambic, via O.Sp., from Arabic al-anbiq "distilling flask," from Gk. ambix "cup," of unknown, possibly Sem., origin.

Main Entry: alem·bic
Pronunciation: &-'lem-bik
Function: noun
: an apparatus formerly used in distillation
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