alembic
/əˈlɛm.bɪk/
"alembic" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“alembic” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 7
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - An early chemical apparatus, consisting of two retorts connected by a tube, used to purify substances by distillation.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | alembic |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /əˈlɛm.bɪk/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “alembic” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
alembic is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /əˈlɛm.bɪk/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "An early chemical apparatus, consisting of two retorts connected by a tube, used to purify substances by distillation.".
Zero misspellings are on record for alembic in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
Etymologically, the entry records: From French alambic, from Medieval Latin alembīcus, from Arabic الإِنْبِيق (al-ʔinbīq), from Ancient Greek ἄμβιξ (ámbix, “cup, cap of a still”). Doublet of ambix and lambic. The correct English form is alembic, spelled A-L-E-M-B-I-C.
Definition
- 1An early chemical apparatus, consisting of two retorts connected by a tube, used to purify substances by distillation.
Etymology
From French alambic, from Medieval Latin alembīcus, from Arabic الإِنْبِيق (al-ʔinbīq), from Ancient Greek ἄμβιξ (ámbix, “cup, cap of a still”). Doublet of ambix and lambic.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “alembic”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is A-L-E-M-B-I-C - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /əˈlɛm.bɪk/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.