alchemy

American  

[al-kuh-mee] / ˈæl kə mi /

noun

• alchemies
  plural

1. a form of chemistry and speculative philosophy practiced in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance and concerned principally with discovering methods for transmuting baser metals into gold and with finding a universal solvent and an elixir of life.

2. any magical power or process of transmuting a common substance, usually of little value, into a substance of great value.

3. any seemingly magical process of transforming or combining elements into something new.

   Through some kind of alchemy he has reinvented himself as a writer.

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alchemy British  

/ ˈælkəmɪ, ælˈkɛmɪk /

noun

1. the pseudoscientific predecessor of chemistry that sought a method of transmuting base metals into gold, an elixir to prolong life indefinitely, a panacea or universal remedy, and an alkahest or universal solvent

2. a power like that of alchemy

   her beauty had a potent alchemy

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alchemy Scientific  

/ ăl′kə-mē /

1. A medieval philosophy and early form of chemistry whose aims were the transmutation of base metals into gold, the discovery of a cure for all diseases, and the preparation of a potion that gives eternal youth. The imagined substance capable of turning other metals into gold was called the philosophers' stone.

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alchemy Cultural  

1. A science (no longer practiced) that sought to transform one chemical element into another through a combination of magic and primitive chemistry. Alchemy is considered to be the ancestor of modern chemistry.

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Closer Look

Because their goals were so unrealistic, and because they had so little success in achieving them, the practitioners of alchemy in the Middle Ages got a reputation as fakers and con artists. But this reputation is not fully deserved. While they never succeeded in turning lead into gold (one of their main goals), they did make discoveries that helped to shape modern chemistry. Alchemists invented early forms of some of the laboratory equipment used today, including beakers, crucibles, filters, and stirring rods. They also discovered and purified a number of chemical elements, including mercury, sulfur, and arsenic. And the methods they developed to separate mixtures and purify compounds by distillation and extraction are still important.

Discover More

The search for the philosopher's stone that would change lead and other base metals into gold was part of alchemy.

Today, alchemy is associated with wizards, magic, and the search for arcane knowledge.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• alchemic
  adjective
• alchemical
  adjective
• alchemistic
  adjective
• alchemistical
  adjective
• alchemically
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• alchemies
  plural

Etymology

Origin of alchemy

First recorded in 1375–1425; earlier alchimie, from Old French alquemie, from Medieval Latin alchymia, from Arabic al “the” + kīmiyā', from Greek chēmeía, chēmía, chymeía “art of alloying metals; alchemy”; replacing Middle English alconomye, equivalent to alk(imie) + (astr)onomye “astronomy” ( see astronomy)

Explanation

If your favorite but perpetually losing team picks up a couple of new players and the result is suddenly an unbeatable combo, that's alchemy — any seemingly magical act involving the combining of elements into something new. In medieval times, alchemy meant the mysterious science of trying to convert one form of matter into another using fire, potions, spells, and all kinds of other tricks. Alchemists often got a bad rap for their obsession with trying to turn base metals into gold, but in fact true alchemy was concerned with a far loftier ideal — that of finding a "universal elixir" that could overcome death.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

alchemy alchemies

"It begins with the transfer of gold from the mantle into a melt that eventually forms volcanoes. The alchemy starts long before the metal reaches the surface."

From Science Daily ● Jul. 29, 2026

Their alchemy was as ineffable as it was infectious.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026

It was a crash course in storytelling, producing, and understanding the alchemy that propelled so many of Ryan’s shows into the zeitgeist.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 15, 2026

Even if you never bore witness to that outrageous performance, its elemental alchemy vibrates in the band’s most popular songs, each of them calling to us with purpose.

From Salon ● Jun. 7, 2026

“You, young man, have the soul of a blacksmith,” the master of alchemy told him in a cold rage.

From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor

“Fire of Love” excavates their unique story, and the jaw-dropping footage the Kraffts left behind, in a film exploding with awe for the mysterious alchemies of love and obsession.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 15, 2022

It’s also a profane hymn to the specific alchemies of fire and metal, to the dark allure of forces that can destroy us no matter how hard we try to bend them to our will.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2021

Chaat is India’s seemingly limitless genre of snacks, alchemies of sour-sweet, tart and smoky, cooling and incendiary, creamy and crackling.

From New York Times ● Dec. 9, 2016

Equally important are good timing, dumb luck, strange alchemies.

From The Guardian ● May 3, 2013

The Devil plotted since the world was young With alchemies of fire and witches' oils And magic.

From The Wild Knight and Other Poems by Chesterton, G. K. (Gilbert Keith)