1
Stage 1 of 4
al-kimiya
Arabic · medieval
"alchemy"
adopted from a Greek word for the art of transmutation, with the Arabic article al- attached
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Stage 2 of 4
alchimista
Medieval Latin · 1200s
"practitioner of alchemy"
entered Europe as Arabic learning was translated in Spain and Sicily
3
Stage 3 of 4
chimiste
French · 1560s
"alchemist"
shortened the long Latin term
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Stage 4 of 4
chymist / chemist
English · 1560s-1790s
"chemical scientist / pharmacist"
first meant "alchemist"; by the 1620s a chemical scientist, and by 1745 also a druggist in British usage
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