alchemy
Americannoun
plural
alchemies-
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.
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any magical power or process of transmuting a common substance, usually of little value, into a substance of great value.
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any seemingly magical process of transforming or combining elements into something new.
Through some kind of alchemy he has reinvented himself as a writer.
noun
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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
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a power like that of alchemy
her beauty had a potent alchemy
Closer Look
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.
Discover More
The search for the philosopher's stone that would change lead and other base metals into gold was part of alchemy.
Today, alchemy is associated with wizards, magic, and the search for arcane knowledge.
Other Word Forms
- alchemic adjective
- alchemical adjective
- alchemically adverb
- alchemistic adjective
- alchemistical adjective
Etymology
Origin of alchemy
First recorded in 1375–1425; earlier alchimie, from Old French alquemie, from Medieval Latin alchymia, from Arabic al “the” + kīmiyā', from Greek chēmeía, chēmía, chymeía “art of alloying metals; alchemy”; replacing Middle English alconomye, equivalent to alk(imie) + (astr)onomye “astronomy” ( astronomy )
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“What catches on is completely unpredictable, there’s almost a mysterious alchemy to it. What’s clear is this: The regime hasn’t pacified them.”
We are now one generation of technological alchemy away from the smallest possible silicon microchips.
If he could describe “good” art in a sentence, it would be: “an alchemy where there’s a mystery of its creation, and how it makes you feel.”
From Los Angeles Times
How did you kind of get that alchemy right that she could be both those things at once?
From Los Angeles Times
The Core Club promised to bring together luminaries in business, arts, technology and culture in hopes of sparking some greater collective alchemy.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
