Alchymist

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An individual engaged in the pursuit of transforming base metals into gold or discovering the elixir of life, often associated with mystical practices
2. A practitioner of alchemy, typically striving for the transmutation of substances or achieving spiritual enlightenment through chemical experimentation
3. A historical figure or scholar focused on the philosophical and esoteric study of material transformation, blending science with mysticism and ancient traditions

Etymology: The word "alchymist" is simply an older spelling of "alchemist," and its history runs through the Arabic-speaking world. The root begins with the Arabic "al-kīmiyāʔ," which came into Greek as "khumeia," a term for the art of working with metals and other materials. Medieval Latin then took it as "alchemia," and from that came "alchemista," the name for a practitioner. Medieval Latin's "alchemista" passed into Old French as "alquemiste," and English borrowed the form from there. The ending is the familiar "-ist," which marks a person who practises a discipline, so an alchymist was someone who practised alchemy. Because "alchemy" itself is the Greek-derived "khumeia" passed through Arabic, the Latin and French forms carry the same underlying notion of transforming substances.

Synonyms: alchemist