transmutation

[ trans-myoo-tey-shuhn, tranz- ]

noun

1. the act or process of transmuting.
2. the fact or state of being transmuted.
3. change into another nature, substance, form, or condition.
4. Biology. the transformation of one species into another. Compare transformism.
5. Physics. any process in which a nuclide is transformed into a different nuclide, usually one of a different element.
6. Alchemy. the supposed conversion of base metals into metals of greater value, especially into gold or silver.

transmutation

/ ˌtrænzmjuːˈteɪʃən /

noun

1. the act or an instance of transmuting
2. the change of one chemical element into another by a nuclear reaction
3. the attempted conversion, by alchemists, of base metals into gold or silver

transmutation

/ trăns′myo̅o̅-tā′shən /

1. The changing of one chemical element into another. Transmutations occur naturally through radioactive decay, or artificially by bombarding the nucleus of a substance with subatomic particles.

Derived Forms

• ˌtransmuˈtational, adjective
• ˌtransmuˈtationist, nounadjective

Other Words From

• transmu·tation·al trans·mut·a·tive [trans-, myoo, -t, uh, -tiv, tranz-], adjective
• transmu·tation·ist noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of transmutation¹

1350–1400; Middle English transmutacio ( u ) n (< Old French transmutation ) < Latin trānsmūtātiōn- (stem of trānsmūtātiō ) a changing, shifting, equivalent to trānsmūtāt ( us ) (past participle of trānsmūtāre to change) + -iōn- -ion. See transmute, -ation

Example Sentences

He decorated Arca Arcanorum with an emblem copied from a medieval alchemical scroll, illustrating the allegorical process of alchemical transmutation necessary for the Philosophers’ Stone.

From Singularity Hub 

The ship set sail in 1831, but it wasn’t until 1835, on a visit to the Galapagos Islands toward the end of the voyage, that Darwin began to formulate his theory of natural selection, which at the time was referred to as “transmutation of species.”

From Time