Chemicals

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Substances composed of matter that possess unique properties and interact in specific ways during reactions and applications in fields like industry and research
2. Components of matter that can exist as solids, liquids, or gases and are vital for numerous processes in sectors such as healthcare and technology
3. Materials made up of atoms or molecules that have specific structures and characteristics, used in various scientific and industrial processes

Etymology: "Chemical" entered English in the early 1600s as an adjective, and its origins lie in alchemy rather than in any modern laboratory. It comes from medieval Latin "chimicus," which meant an alchemist or relating to alchemy, itself drawn from Arabic "al-kimiya," the art that the Arabic word traces back, through late Greek, to an uncertain Egyptian source. The word thus carried the mystique of alchemical transformation long before anyone spoke of substances in a scientific sense. The noun "chemical" for a substance appeared only in the 18th century, as chemistry developed into a systematic discipline and needed a name for the materials it studied. The plural "chemicals" followed, and its sense broadened over time: it now covers everything from common salt to synthetic polymers, sometimes with a slightly negative connotation that the more neutral "substance" avoids.

Synonyms: substances, compounds, elements