n. [ OF. alkemie, arquemie, F. alchimie, Ar. al-kīmīa, fr. late Gr. &unr_;, for &unr_;, a mingling, infusion, &unr_; juice, liquid, especially as extracted from plants, fr. &unr_; to pour; for chemistry was originally the art of extracting the juices from plants for medicinal purposes. Cf. Sp. alquimia, It. alchimia. Gr. &unr_; is prob. akin to L. fundere to pour, Goth. guitan, AS. geótan, to pour, and so to E. fuse. See Fuse, and cf. Chemistry. ]
Put to their mouths the sounding alchemy. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]
Kissing with golden face the meadows green,
Gilding pale streams with heavenly alchemy. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]