alchemy

C2+ Topic:Science & Research

US /ˈælkəmi/ UK /ˈalkəmi/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
the medieval forerunner of chemistry seeking to transmute metals into gold

Medieval alchemy dreamed of turning lead into gold.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the medieval forerunner of... sorcery transmutation magic wizardry

Word family

Derived forms alchemizealchemicalchemical alchemist

Related forms chemistry chemical

Simplified etymology

Alchemy entered English in the late Middle English period from Arabic al-kīmiyā’, the name of the field concerned with transforming base metals into gold.

Etymology

From Old French alchimie, from Medieval Latin alchymia, from Arabic al-kīmiyāʾ ('the alchemy'), from al- ('the') + kīmiyāʾ, probably from Ancient Greek khēmeía ('art of transmuting metals').

al-kīmiyāʾ Arabic khēmeía Ancient Greek

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Science & Research Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# alchemy

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈælkəmi/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈalkəmi/

## Meanings
1. the medieval forerunner of chemistry seeking to transmute metals into gold

## Examples
- Medieval alchemy dreamed of turning lead into gold.

## Synonyms
- sorcery
- transmutation
- magic
- wizardry

## Derived Forms
- alchemize
- alchemic
- alchemical
- alchemist

## Related Forms
- chemistry
- chemical

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: al-kīmiyāʾ
- Root: khēmeía

## Etymology
From Old French alchimie, from Medieval Latin alchymia, from Arabic al-kīmiyāʾ ('the alchemy'), from al- ('the') + kīmiyāʾ, probably from Ancient Greek khēmeía ('art of transmuting metals').

## AI Etymology
alchemy comes from Old French alchimie, from Medieval Latin alchymia, from Arabic al-kīmiyāʾ ('the alchemy'), from al- ('the') + kīmiyāʾ, probably from Ancient Greek khēmeía ('art of transmuting metals'). Morphologically, the word is transparent as a compound: its parts remain visible in the modern spelling, while the older history of those parts supplies the deeper ancestry. In modern use, the noun sense is "the medieval forerunner of chemistry seeking to transmute metals into gold", which keeps the etymology connected to the word's present dictionary value rather than treating it as a merely historical label. The wider word family includes related English forms such as chemistry, chemical and derivatives such as alchemize, alchemic, alchemical, alchemist, showing how the same base continues to support neighboring English vocabulary. The principal historical forms in the chain include Arabic al-kīmiyāʾ, Ancient Greek khēmeía, which anchor the explanation in named linguistic material.

## Topics
- Science & Research
- Word Formation & Derivatives

markdown