Chymistrie

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The early study of matter and how substances change and combine ; the medieval pseudoscience aiming to turn base metals into gold
2. An old name for the investigation of substances and their reactions ; the mystical practice of alchemists seeking to transform common metals
3. Archaic term for the science of materials and their changes ; the secretive art of alchemy, aimed at producing gold from lesser metals

Etymology: For centuries in English, "chymistrie" meant alchemy: the attempt to turn base metals into gold and to find a substance that could prolong life. The spelling shows how it was built. It combines "chymist," a practitioner, with the suffix "-rie" (from Old French "-erie"), which marks a craft or practice, as in "pottery" or "bakery." The deeper origin is Arabic. The word most likely comes from "al-kīmiyā'," "the alchemy," which entered Medieval Latin as "alchimia" and reached English through Old French. An older proposal derived it from a Greek word, "khymeia," but that route is considered less likely.