alchemy

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al·che·my

(ăl′kə-mē)

1. 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. 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, probably alteration of khumeia, from Greek khein, khu-, to pour; see gheu- in Indo-European roots (influenced, owing to the reputation of Egyptian alchemists, by Greek Khēmiā, Egypt, from Egyptian kmt, Egypt, from feminine of km, black, in reference to the black soil of the Nile valley)).]

al·chem′i·cal (ăl-kĕm′ĭ-kəl), al·chem′ic adj.

al·chem′i·cal·ly adv.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

alchemy

(ˈælkəmɪ)

n, pl -mies

1. (Alchemy) the pseudoscientific predecessor of chemistry that sought a method of transmuting base metals into gold, an elixir to prolong life indefinitely, a panacea or universal remedy, and an alkahest or universal solvent

2. a power like that of alchemy: her beauty had a potent alchemy.

[C14 alkamye, via Old French from Medieval Latin alchimia, from Arabic al-kīmiyā', from al the + kīmiyā' transmutation, from Late Greek khēmeia the art of transmutation]

alchemic, alˈchemical, ˌalchemˈistic adj

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

al•che•my

(ˈæl kə mi)

n., pl. -mies.

1. a form of chemistry and speculative philosophy of the Middle Ages that attempted to discover an elixir of life and a method for transmuting base metals into gold.

2. any seemingly magical process of transmuting ordinary materials into something of true merit.

[1325–1375; Middle English alkamye < Old French alquemie < Medieval Latin alchymia < Arabic al the + kīmiyā' < Late Greek chēmeía,chymeía alchemy]

al•chem′ic (-ˈkɛm ɪk) al•chem′i•cal, al`che•mis′tic, al`che•mis′ti•cal, adj.

al•chem′i•cal•ly, adv.

al·che·my

(ăl′kə-mē)

A medieval philosophy and early form of chemistry whose aims were the changing of common 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 philosopher's stone.

Did You Know? 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 discovered and purified a number of chemical elements, including mercury, sulfur, and arsenic. They invented early forms of some of the laboratory equipment used today, including beakers, crucibles, filters, and stirring rods. And they developed methods to separate mixtures and purify compounds by distillation and extraction that are still important.

The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Alchemy

alchemy

The practice of turning base metals into gold but also of attaining spiritual perfection.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun	1.	alchemy - the way two individuals relate to each other; "their chemistry was wrong from the beginning -- they hated each other"; "a mysterious alchemy brought them together" interpersonal chemistry, chemistry social relation - a relation between living organisms (especially between people)
	2.	alchemy - a pseudoscientific forerunner of chemistry in medieval times athanor - a furnace that feeds itself so as to maintain a uniform temperature; used by alchemists pseudoscience - an activity resembling science but based on fallacious assumptions

alchemy

noun magic, witchcraft, wizardry, sorcery Imagine that by some political alchemy, all men had been made equal.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

Translations

alchymie

alkemia

alkemija

alkímiaaranycsinálás

煉丹術錬金術黄金術

alkemi

alchemy

[ˈælkɪmɪ] N (= ancient chemistry) → alquimia f (fig) (= mysterious power) → poder m mágico

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

alchemy

[ˈælkəmi] n → alchimie f

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

alchemy

n → Alchemie f, → Alchimie f

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

alchemy

[ˈælkɪmɪ] n → alchimia

References in classic literature ?

Claude Frollo's felicitations to Jacques Coictier bore reference principally to the temporal advantages which the worthy physician had found means to extract, in the course of his much envied career, from each malady of the king, an operation of alchemy much better and more certain than the pursuit of the philosopher's stone.

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For being an idle boy lang syne; Who read Anacreon and drank wine, I early found Anacreon rhymes Were almost passionate sometimes-- And by strange alchemy of brain His pleasures always turned to pain-- His naiveté to wild desire-- His wit to love-his wine to fire-- And so, being young and dipt in folly, I fell in love with melancholy,

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"My old studies in alchemy," observed he, "and my sojourn, for above a year past, among a people well versed in the kindly properties of simples, have made a better physician of me than many that claim the medical degree.

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Clausen," she said, at the same time, by some transforming alchemy of woman, presenting to the newcomer eyes that showed no hint of moistness.

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By some subtle spiritual or physical alchemy observation had been transmuted into action--the sightseers had become participants in the spectacle--the audience had usurped the stage.

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She is the product of an Alchemy of such virtue that he who is able to practise it, will turn her into pure gold of inestimable worth.

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But why should papers of political import be intrusted to Van Baerle, who not only was, but also boasted of being, an entire stranger to the science of government, which, in his opinion, was more occult than alchemy itself?

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In the alchemy of his brain, trigonometry and mathematics and the whole field of knowledge which they betokened were transmuted into so much landscape.

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His mind, therefore, had become stored with all kinds of mystic lore; he had dabbled a little in astrology, alchemy, divination;[2] knew how to detect stolen money, and to tell where springs of water lay hidden; in a word, by the dark nature of his knowledge he had acquired the name of the "High German Doctor," which is pretty nearly equivalent to that of necromancer.

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He was from beyond the sea, a Doctor Cacaphodel, who had wilted and dried himself into a mummy by continually stooping over charcoal furnaces, and inhaling unwholesome fumes during his researches in chemistry and alchemy. It was told of him, whether truly or not, that at the commencement of his studies, he had drained his body of all its richest blood, and wasted it, with other inestimable ingredients, in an unsuccessful experiment--and had never been a well man since.

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He was from beyond the sea, a Doctor Cacaphodel, who had wilted and dried himself into a mummy by continually stooping over charcoal furnaces, and inhaling unwholesome fumes during his researches in chemistry and alchemy. It was told of him, whether truly or not, that, at the commencement of his studies, he had drained his body of all its richest blood, and wasted it, with other inestimable ingredients, in an unsuccessful experiment -- and had never been a well man since.

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It was as if he had withheld from his wife a secret alchemy that had kept him handsome and attractive, as compelling as when he had come in search of herself so long ago.

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