alkahest

or al·ca·hest

[ al-kuh-hest ]

noun

1. the universal solvent sought by the alchemists.

alkahest

/ ˈælkəˌhɛst /

noun

1. the hypothetical universal solvent sought by alchemists

Other Words From

• alka·hestic alka·hesti·cal adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of alkahest¹

First recorded in 1635–45, alkahest is from the late Medieval Latin word alchahest; probably coinage of Paracelsus

Word History and Origins

Origin of alkahest¹

C17: apparently coined by Paracelsus on the model of Arabic words

Example Sentences

“Remove your foot,” he said in a low, casual tone, “or I’ll test my current batch of alkahest on it.”

From Literature

In all the dreams of the mediæval philosophy—in the philosopher’s stone and the stone philosophic, in the universal alkahest, in the magical ‘elixir vitæ’—Dr. Fludd was a serious believer.

From Project Gutenberg

She must bring down the spirit of the sun and blend it with her own—for wheat partakes of the alkahest.

From Project Gutenberg

We have discovered the political alkahest or universal solvent of the alchemists, and with it we reduce at once the national characteristics of foreigners into our well-known American compound.

From Project Gutenberg

This, with tree-planting and culture, would double, for the soil seemed to contain the miraculous properties of alkahest.

From Project Gutenberg