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Definition: alchemy from Philip's Encyclopedia

A system in European philosophy in the Middle Ages and Renaissance. It contained elements such as Gnosticism and astrology, now regarded as mysticism, alongside early scientific ideas. By the medieval period alchemy was interwoven with many other aspects of thought. It later helped inspire the origins of science, and alchemists pioneered the techniques of chemistry. However, alchemy hid ideas in complex symbolism and became widely misunderstood. Its reputation declined as it was abused by hoaxers claiming to be able to create material, rather than spiritual, wealth.

alchemy

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
(ăl'kӘmē), ancient art of obscure origin that sought to transform base metals (e.g., lead) into silver and gold; forerunner of the science of chemistry. Some scholars hold that it was first practiced in early Egypt and others that it arose in China (in the 5th or 3d cent. B.C. ) and was carried westward. It consisted chiefly of experiments with metals and other chemical materials. Alchemical apparatus included the alembic (or ambix ) for distillation and the kerotakis for sublimation. In its beginnings alchemy was essentially a craft and embraced many kinds of metalwork, including the use of alloys resembling gold and silver. Alexandria is generally considered a center of early alchemy, and the art was influenced by the philosophy of the Hellenistic Greeks; the conversion of base metals into gold (considered the most perfect of metals) was part of a general striving of all things toward perfection. Since the early alchemists were mainly artisans, they tried to conceal the secrets of…
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Full text Article alchemy

From Chambers Dictionary of the Unexplained
An esoteric philosophical system which was one of the precursors of modern science. It was principally (although not solely) concerned with turning base metals into gold and discovering an ‘elixir of life’. The word ‘alchemy’ entered the English language in the late medieval period as a borrowing…
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Full text Article alchemy

From Word Origins
Alchemy comes, via Old French alkemie and medieval Latin alchimia , from Arabic alkīmīā . Broken down into its component parts, this represents Arabic al ‘the’ and kīmīā , a word borrowed by Arabic from Greek khēmíā ‘alchemy’ - that is, the art of transmuting base metals into gold. (It has been…
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Full text Article ALCHEMY

From The Edinburgh International Encyclopaedia of Psychoanalysis
A medieval forerunner of chemistry which Jung thought could be seen as an analogue of the psychological transformations usually associated with psychotherapy. It was seen by him as an operational mythology , doing something with the psyche and the matter of life. The old alchemists sought a living…
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Full text Article ALCHEMY

From Encyclopedia of Jewish Folklore and Traditions
“Alchemy,” an Arabic word altered by Greek pronunciation, meaning “melting and molding metal,” is the name given to the experimental chemical investigation and speculative philosophy of natural substances that is considered the foundation of modern chemistry. It was practiced in the East (including…
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Full text Article alchemy

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
(ăl'kӘmē), ancient art of obscure origin that sought to transform base metals (e.g., lead) into silver and gold; forerunner of the science of chemistry. Some scholars hold that it was first practiced in early Egypt and others that it arose in China (in the 5th or 3d cent. B.C. ) and was carried…
| 436 words
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Full text Article Alchemy

From The Classical Tradition
The origins and development of alchemy form a complex topic whose details cannot be ascertained without some measure of conjecture. The term comes from the Arabic al-kīmiyā , which in turn probably derives from the Greek chymeia or chēmeia , having as its root sense "the art of fusing metals" and…
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Full text Article alchemy

From The American Heritage Student Science Dictionary
An early form of chemistry that was practiced from the Middle Ages through the early 1700s and included both a philosophical system and a set of experimental practices. Practitioners of alchemy studied the properties of matter and attempted to change common metals into gold. alchemy A popular image…
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From Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy
a quasi-scientific practice and mystical art, mainly ancient and medieval, that had two broad aims: to change baser metals into gold and to develop the elixir of life, the means to immortality. Classical Western alchemy probably originated in Egypt in the first three centuries a.d . (with earlier…
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Full text Article alchemy

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
Supposed technique of transmuting base metals, such as lead and mercury, into silver and gold by the philosopher's stone, a hypothetical substance, to which was also attributed the power to give eternal life. This aspect of alchemy constituted much of the chemistry of the Middle Ages. More broadly, …
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From Gaither's Dictionary of Scientific Quotations
Austrian physicist As long as the alchemist merely sought [the] philosopher's stone and aimed at finding the art of making gold, all [his] endeavors were fruitless; it was only when people restricted themselves to seemingly less valuable questions that they created chemistry. Thus natural science…
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