Main Entry:

al·che·my

Pronunciation:

\ˈal-kə-mē\

Function:

noun

Etymology:

Middle English alkamie, alquemie, from Middle French or Medieval Latin; Middle French alkimie, from Medieval Latin alchymia, from Arabic al-kīmiyā', from al the + kīmiyā' alchemy, from Late Greek chēmeia

Date:

14th century

1 : a medieval chemical science and speculative philosophy aiming to achieve the transmutation of the base metals into gold, the discovery of a universal cure for disease, and the discovery of a means of indefinitely prolonging life 2 : a power or process of transforming something common into something special 3 : an inexplicable or mysterious transmuting

— al·chem·i·cal \-mi-kəl\ also al·chem·ic \al-ˈke-mik\ adjective

— al·chem·i·cal·ly \-mi-k(ə-)lē\ adverb