alchemist
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of alchemist
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English alkamist, probably from Medieval Latin alchymista, equivalent to alchym(ia) alchemy + -ista -ist
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.
Vocabulary lists containing alchemist
The Alchemist
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The Cardboard Kingdom
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"The Jungle" by Upton Sinclair (excerpt)
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
An alchemist of reggaeton, jazz and alternative, RaiNao has graced both NPR’s Tiny Desk and Bad Bunny’s residency shows.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2026
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
Outside, it was a cold November evening, but inside the West End venue, Mulatu was bathed in the warm embrace of a crowd eager to get one last glimpse of this alchemist at work.
From BBC ● Dec. 27, 2025
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
The alchemist dismounted slowly, and the boy did the same.
From "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho
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
He has not of course transformed another chemical element into gold, as the alchemists sought to do.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 29, 2024
Rutherford then shot back: "For Mike's sake, Soddy, don't call it transmutation. They'll have our heads off as alchemists."
From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2023
Ostensibly a backwoods hoedown, “Rag Mama Rag” is a prime example of Robertson and the Band as American music alchemists.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 9, 2023
For the alchemists, the reality of the philosopher’s stone was beyond question; within a generation their appeal to authority, to ancient texts and secret manuscripts, seemed hopelessly misplaced.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
