Hypertext Webster Gateway: "alembic"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Alembic \A*lem"bic\ ([.a]*l[e^]m"b[i^]k), n. [F. alambic (cf.
Sp. alambique), Ar. al-anb[=i]q, fr. Gr. 'a`mbix cup, cap of
a still. The cap or head was the alembic proper. Cf.
{Limbec}.]
An apparatus formerly used in distillation, usually made of
glass or metal. It has mostly given place to the retort and
worm still.
Note: Used also metaphorically.
The alembic of a great poet's imagination.
--Brimley.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
alembic
n : an obsolete kind of container used for distillation; two
retorts connected by a tube
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