One of my favorite words and one that pertains to my next book. It feels ancient and fits into fairy tale like sentiments. I’m hearing it more and more often in our modern dialogue. People are using it in so many ways.
One definition: A medieval chemical science and speculative philosophy aiming to achieve transmutation of the base metals into gold, the discovery of a universal cure for disease, and the discovery of a means of indefinitely prolonging life.
Another: a power of process that changes or transforms something in a mysterious or impressive way.
: an inexplicable or mysterious transmuting
I write about an alchemist I found in Piemonte, basically someone who transforms things for the better. In my book, this pertains to herbs, or what one Piemontese calls, “the superheroes of Piemonte”.
The word began with the Greeks: chēmeia, which probably came from the word chyma (“fluid”), derived from the verb chein, meaning “to pour.” It then passed to Arabic, which added its definite article al- (“the”) to the Greek root. The word then passed from Latin to French before coming to English. Some other words derived from Arabic also retain the al- in English, such as algebra, algorithm, and alcohol; in fact, the transformative liquid that was constantly being sought through experimentation by alchemists is another word with the Arabic al- prefix: elixir.
This morning my guy sent me a photo from Athens, Greece – serendipity – synchronicity!
