Alchemy
['ælkɪmɪ] or ['ælkəmi]
Definition
(noun.) a pseudoscientific forerunner of chemistry in medieval times.
Checked by Clifton--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) 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.
(n.) A mixed metal composed mainly of brass, formerly used for various utensils; hence, a trumpet.
(n.) Miraculous power of transmuting something common into something precious.
Inputed by Carter
Definition
n. the infant stage of chemistry as astrology was of astronomy.—A chief pursuit of the alchemists was to transmute the other metals into gold and to discover the elixir of life.—adj. Alchem′ic—n. Al′chemist one skilled in alchemy.
Checker: Steve
Examples
- Their alchemy was closely associated with metallurgy, the making of alloys and amalgams, and th e handicrafts of the goldsmiths and silversmiths. Walter Libby. An Introduction to the History of Science.
- He seemed born anew, and virtue, more potent than Medean alchemy, endued him with health and strength. Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
- In the Sixteenth Century the study of chemistry, apart from alchemy, began, and some attention was given to its application to the uses of medicine. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- The business man of to-day still thinks of research as a sort of alchemy. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- The real alchemy consists in being able to turn gold back again into something else; and that's the secret that most of your friends have lost. Edith Wharton. The House of Mirth.
Typed by Erica