# alchemy

Pronunciation: say "AL-kuh-mee" /ˈælkəmi/

## Noun

1. The premodern and early modern study of how matter changes, chiefly seeking an elixir of immortality, a panacea, or a philosopher's stone to turn base metals into gold; it grew into chemistry.
   - Simple: An old science that tried to turn cheap metals into gold, cure every illness, or help people live forever.
   - _The court physician dabbled in alchemy, convinced he could find the philosopher's stone._
   - _Her dissertation traces how alchemy slowly gave way to experimental chemistry._
2. A mysterious, seemingly magical, or complex and hidden process that transforms one thing into something different.
   - Simple: A mysterious or complicated process that changes things into something different.
   - _Through some alchemy of grief and time, his anger softened into forgiveness._
   - _Good editing performs a quiet alchemy, turning a rambling draft into a story worth reading._

## Origin

The word starts with Ancient Greek khumeíā ("the art of alloying metals"), probably from khúma ("ingot, bar"). Arabic took it as al-kīmiyāʔ, Medieval Latin as alchēmia, and Old French as alkimie, arquemie (modern French alchimie), the form that reached English. Spanish alquimia and Italian alchimia are comparable.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/alchemy (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).