chemistry

Where does the word "chemistry" come from? It comes from Greek khēmeía, passing through Arabic and Medieval Latin before entering English (1600s).

Chemistry’s story begins in Greek: khēmeía meant “transmutation.” The art of transmuting metals practised in Roman Egypt, as by Zosimos of Panopolis around 300; the name's origin is disputed (Greek khymos 'juice' or an Egyptian name for Egypt, Kemet). By 800s, the word had taken hold in Arabic as al-kīmiyāʾ. Arabic added the article al-; writings attributed to Jabir ibn Hayyan made alchemy a major science of the Islamic world. From there it passed into Medieval Latin as alchymia by 1100s. Robert of Chester's Latin translation of 1144 introduced Arabic alchemy to Europe. It reached English by 1600s as chemistry. The al- was dropped for the new science; Robert Boyle's The Sceptical Chymist (1661) attacked the alchemical view of elements. Today, chemistry means the science of the composition, properties and reactions of substances.

1. Stage 1 · Greek · 300s khēmeía "transmutation", the art of transmuting metals practised in Roman Egypt, as by Zosimos of Panopolis around 300; the name's origin is disputed (Greek khymos 'juice' or an Egyptian name for Egypt, Kemet).
2. Stage 2 · Arabic · 800s al-kīmiyāʾ "alchemy", Arabic added the article al-; writings attributed to Jabir ibn Hayyan made alchemy a major science of the Islamic world.
3. Stage 3 · Medieval Latin · 1100s alchymia "alchemy", Robert of Chester's Latin translation of 1144 introduced Arabic alchemy to Europe.
4. Stage 4 · English · 1600s chemistry "science of substances", the al- was dropped for the new science; Robert Boyle's The Sceptical Chymist (1661) attacked the alchemical view of elements.