Alchemy
Alchemy ({not transcribed}) , noun
[Old French alkemie, arquemie, French alchimie, Arabic al-kīmīa, from late Greek {not transcribed}, for {not transcribed}, a mingling, infusion, {not transcribed} juice, liquid, especially as extracted from plants, from {not transcribed} to pour; for chemistry was originally the art of extracting the juices from plants for medicinal purposes. Compare Sp. alquimia, Italian alchimia. Greek {not transcribed} is prob. akin to Latin fundere to pour, Gothic guitan, Anglo-Saxon geótan, to pour, and so to English fuse. See Fuse, and compare Chemistry.]
1.
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.
2.
A mixed metal composed mainly of brass, formerly used for various utensils; hence, a trumpet. [Obsolete]
Put to their mouths the sounding alchemy.
3.
Miraculous power of transmuting something common into something precious.
Kissing with golden face the meadows green,
Gilding pale streams with heavenly alchemy.