Hypertext Webster Gateway: "Alchemy"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Alchemy \Al"che*my\, n. [OF. alkemie, arquemie, F. alchimie, Ar.
al-k[=i]m[=i]a, fr. late Gr. ?, for ?, a mingling, infusion,
? juice, liquid, especially as extracted from plants, fr. ?
to pour; for chemistry was originally the art of extracting
the juices from plants for medicinal purposes. Cf. Sp.
alquimia, It. alchimia. Gr. ? is prob. akin to L. fundere to
pour, Goth. guitan, AS. ge['o]tan, to pour, and so to E.
fuse. See {Fuse}, and cf. {Chemistry}.]
1. An imaginary art which aimed to transmute the baser metals
into gold, to find the panacea, or universal remedy for
diseases, etc. It led the way to modern chemistry.
2. A mixed metal composed mainly of brass, formerly used for
various utensils; hence, a trumpet. [Obs.]
Put to their mouths the sounding alchemy. --Milton.
3. Miraculous power of transmuting something common into
something precious.
Kissing with golden face the meadows green, Gilding
pale streams with heavenly alchemy. --Shak.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
alchemy
n 1: a pseudoscientific forerunner of chemistry in medieval times
2: the way two individuals relate to each other; "their
chemistry was wrong from the beginning -- they hated each
other"; "a mysterious alchemy brought them together" [syn:
{chemistry}, {interpersonal chemistry}]
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