[al.che.my] n [ME alkamie, alquemie, fr. MF or ML; MF alquemie, fr. ML alchymia, fr. Ar al-kimiya', fr. al the + kimiya' alchemy, fr. LGk chemeia] (14c) 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 also al.chem.ic adj -- al.chem.i.cal.ly adv