alchemist

American  

[al-kuh-mist] / ˈæl kə mɪst /

noun

• alchemists
  plural

1. a person who is versed in or practices alchemy.

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alchemist British  

/ ˈælkəmɪst /

noun

1. a person who practises alchemy

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• alchemists
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of alchemist

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English alkamist, probably from Medieval Latin alchymista, equivalent to alchym(ia) alchemy + -ista -ist

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Explanation

If you're an alchemist, then you try to change common metals into gold. People have been trying to figure that out for a long time, so you might need to have another job to finance your career as an alchemist. The word alchemist comes from alchemy, which has origins in the Greek word khemeia, meaning "art of transmuting metals." Active since ancient times, alchemists could be considered very early chemists because of their work trying to transform base metals into gold. Alchemists could also be considered wizards because they attempted to make special elixirs that would give everlasting life and cure sickness.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

alchemist alchemists

Lichtenberg considers himself an AI alchemist of sorts, because he often has to re-prompt the tools he uses to get the writing and analysis he’s looking for.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 27, 2026

A self-proclaimed alchemist, Williams specializes in transforming wet soil into hardened sculptures that typically live outdoors, where the wind carries seedlings that may attach to the artist’s creations and bloom.

From New York Times ● Mar. 22, 2024

Back in the album chart, hip-hop alchemist Travis Scott holds steady at number two with his sprawling fourth album, Utopia.

From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2023

And in the notebooks of 17th-century astronomer Johannes Kepler, the appearance of silver, gold, arsenic and lead revealed that Kepler may have been a practicing alchemist.

From Salon ● Aug. 24, 2023

And then, as if the desert wanted to demonstrate that the alchemist was right, two horsemen appeared from behind the travelers.

From "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho

Whereas the alchemists of old sought ways to turn base metals into gold, I am transforming a precious metal into gifts for the most important people in my life, family members both past and present.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026

Astrologers consult a national zodiac, palm readers ring pagodas, would-be alchemists attempt to transmute mercury into gold and SIM card companies advertise dial-a-diviners.

From Barron's ● Dec. 21, 2025

Financially speaking, the wellness industry has finally succeeded where centuries of alchemists failed: turning magnesium into gold.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 6, 2024

He has not of course transformed another chemical element into gold, as the alchemists sought to do.

From Science Daily ● Feb. 29, 2024

Despite acknowledging that most alchemists are con artists, della Porta assures us that he is different and offers only reliable information.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

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