Alchemy

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈælkəmi/

Definitions

1. A transformative medieval practice that integrates elements of science, philosophy, and mysticism, aiming at converting metals and discovering elixirs of life
2. An ancient and speculative tradition that fuses religion, philosophy, and early chemistry to pursue material transformation and enlightenment
3. A medieval discipline combining chemical experiments and spiritual beliefs to change substances and find universal cures ; a metaphorical process of profound change or creation

Etymology: The most surprising thing about "alchemy" is that its Greek ancestor was a metalworking term with nothing mystical about it. In ancient Greek, "khumeia" meant the art of alloying metals, and it was built on "khuma," a word for an ingot or bar of cast metal. The Greeks used it for practical work in the metal trade, long before anyone linked it to transforming base metals into gold. The word passed through Arabic, which took the Greek term and added the article "al-" to give "al-kimiya'," the form that later medieval scholars carried westward. Medieval Latin then adopted it as "alchemia," and it reached English through Old French "alkimie," where the chemical sense of changing one substance into another was attached to it. The Arabic and Latin forms show the word already had a broad sense of transformation and technical craft by the time it moved between cultures.

Synonyms: charm, magic, sorcery, transmutation, elixir

Antonyms: science, rationalism, logic, empiricism, realism