# alchemy

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈælkəmi/ · frequency rank #21,988

## Definitions
1. The premodern and early modern study of physical changes, particularly in Europe, Arabia, and China; and chiefly in pursuit of an elixir of immortality, a universal panacea, and/or a philosopher's stone able to transmute base metals into gold, eventually developing into chemistry.
2. The causing of any sort of mysterious sudden transmutation.
3. Any elaborate transformation process or algorithm.

## Etymology
From Old French alkimie, arquemie (French alchimie), from Medieval Latin alchēmia, from Arabic اَلْكِيمِيَاء (al-kīmiyāʔ), from Ancient Greek χυμείᾱ (khumeíā, “art of alloying metals”), from χύμα (khúma, “ingot, bar”). Compare Spanish alquimia and Italian alchimia.

## Easily confused with
- **archery** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/alchemy-vs-archery)

## Common misspellings (11)
`aclhemy`, `alcchemy`, `alcehmy`, `alchemmy`, `alchemyy`, `alcheym`, `alchhemy`, `alchmey`, `alhcemy`, `allchemy`, `lachemy`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/alchemy