n.
Pronunciation: ' al-k ə -m ē
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English alkamie, alquemie, from Middle French or Medieval Latin; Middle French alkimie, from Medieval Latin alchymia, from Arabic al-k ī miy ā ', from al the + k ī miy ā ' alchemy, from Late Greek ch ē meia
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-k ə l \ also al · chem · ic \ al- ' ke-mik \ adjective
– al · chem · i · cal · ly \ -mi-k( ə -)l ē \ adverb