alchemy
noun /ˈælkəmi/
/ˈælkəmi/
[uncountable]- a form of chemistry studied in the Middle Ages that involved trying to discover how to change ordinary metals into gold
- (literary) a mysterious power or magic that can change things
Word Originlate Middle English: via Old French and medieval Latin from Arabic al-kīmiyā', from al ‘the’ + kīmiyā' (from Greek khēmia, khēmeia ‘art of transmuting metals’).