alchemist

noun

al·​che·​mist ˈal-kə-mist 

: a person who studies or practices alchemy

alchemistic

ˌal-kə-ˈmi-stik 

adjective

or less commonly alchemistical

ˌal-kə-ˈmi-sti-kəl 

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Alchemist: Someone Who Transforms Things for the Better

Today we recognize alchemy as a pseudoscience, and give chemistry its rightful place as a serious scientific field, but the two terms initially overlapped in meaning before separating by the 17th century, just as astrology and astronomy did during the same period.

Alchemy and alchemist are in fact older words than chemistry and chemist in English. Alchemists believed that lead could be “perfected” into gold, that diseases could be cured, and that life could be prolonged through transmutation, or a change of some essential element into a superior form. Their secretive experiments, usually involving heat and the mixing of liquids, led to the development of pharmacology and the rise of modern chemistry.

The long route to English for alchemist began with the Greek word chēmeia, which probably came from the word chyma (“fluid”), derived from the verb chein, meaning “to pour.” It then passed to Arabic, which added its definite article al- (“the”) to the Greek root. The word then passed from Latin to French before coming to English. Some other words derived from Arabic also retain the al- in English, such as algebra, algorithm, and alcohol; in fact, the transformative liquid that was constantly being sought through experimentation by alchemists is another word with the Arabic al- prefix: elixir.

This power to transform things for the better, real or imagined, led to figurative meanings for alchemy and alchemist.

Examples of alchemist in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Even Sir Isaac Newton, considered the father of physics, was an avid alchemist who wrote a recipe for a main ingredient needed to make the fabled philosopher’s stone. —Ashley Strickland, CNN, 28 July 2024

Tycho Brahe, a 16th-century Danish alchemist and astronomer, kept his methods close to his chest. —Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 Aug. 2024

An alchemist working for elite members of society would have employed gold and mercury to combat a wide range of diseases. —Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 Aug. 2024

The most likely possibility is that the tungsten came into Brahe's lab bound to some other mineral and when the alchemist got busy refining that substance, the tungsten got enriched as well. —Michael Franco, New Atlas, 25 July 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English alkemyste, alkamystre, borrowed from Middle French and Medieval Latin; Middle French alkemiste, arquemiste, borrowed from Medieval Latin alchemista, alkimista, from alkimia, alchymia alchemy + -ista -ist entry 1

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above