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Dictionary of Phrase and Fable—A

Alchemy

(Al-ki-me) is the Arabic al kimia (the secret art); so called not only because it was carried on in secret, but because its main objects were the three great secrets of science—the transmutation of baser metals into gold, the universal solvent, and the elixir of life.

Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894

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More on Alchemy from Infoplease:

alchemy - alchemy alchemy , ancient art of obscure origin that sought to transform base metals (e.g., lead) ...
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John Donne: Love's Alchemy - Some that have deeper digg'd love's mine than I, Say, where his centric happiness doth lie.

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