- 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