Middle English alkemye, alkamye, alchymie, borrowed from Anglo-French & Medieval Latin Anglo-French alkemye (Middle French also alquimie, arquemie), borrowed from Medieval Latin alkimia, alchymia 'transmutation of base metals into gold, the philosopher's stone,' borrowed from Arabic al-kД«miyДЃКј, from al 'the' + kД«miyДЃКј 'art of transmuting base metals,' borrowed, perhaps via Syriac kД«miyДЃ, from Late Greek chymeГ®ДЃ, chД“meГ®ДЃ, of uncertain origin These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'alchemy.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. 2022 TrierвЂ™s lineage has given him rare insight into the mysterious alchemy between music and cinema. 2022 Inspiration, the alchemy by which an idea makes it from the mind to the page (or canvas or potterвЂ™s wheel or dress form), is often inarticulable or somehow unsatisfying. 2022 TelevisionвЂ™s unique alchemy of continuity and endless possibility allows viewers to commit to characters and worlds in a way even franchise films cannot. Michael Alberty | For The Oregonian/oregonlive, oregonlive, 18 Apr. Grooming Playbook, The Salt Lake Tribune, This is pure alchemy, as Day turns chardonnay, sauvignon blanc and chenin blanc from the Applegate and Willamette Valleys into something far better than the individual parts. Tim Carman, Washington Post, 6 June 2022 Inspired by the ancient practises of alchemy and fragrance making, The Voice of the Snake truly belongs on the wooden shelves of an antique apothecary, and evokes this very image with its enchanting and intensely unique fragrance. 2022 ItвЂ™s sort of like wok hei, but for pizza ovens, an alchemy of ingredients and cooking vessel that produces flavors impossible to replicate any other way.

Liam Hess, Vogue, 8 June 2022 And, to quote Jason Reynolds, what happens within that space is a form of alchemy. Recent Examples on the Web At the end of last year, Megan Thee Stallion and Casey Cadwallader had their first meeting on the set of MuglerвЂ™s spring 2022 collection video-and the creative alchemy between the pair was instantly apparent. This power to transform things for the better, real or imagined, led to figurative meanings for alchemy and alchemist. 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.

The word then passed from Latin to French before coming to English.

The long route to English for alchemist began with the Greek word chД“meia, which probably came from the word chyma (вЂњfluidвЂќ), derived from the verb chein, meaning вЂњto pour.вЂќ It then passed to Arabic, which added its definite article al- (вЂњtheвЂќ) to the Greek root. Their secretive experiments, usually involving heat and the mixing of liquids, led to the development of pharmacology and the rise of modern chemistry. Alchemists believed that lead could be вЂњperfectedвЂќ 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. 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.ДЄlchemy and alchemist are in fact older words than chemistry and chemist in English. Alchemist: Someone Who Transforms Things for the Better

Alchemistry