Dictionary:
a·lem·bic (ə-lĕm'bĭk)  |
[Middle English alambic, from Old French, from Medieval Latin alembicus, from Arabic al-'anbīq : al-, the + 'anbīq, still (from Greek ambix, cup).]
| Wordsmith Words: alembic |
(uh-LEM-bik)
noun
1. An apparatus formerly used in distilling substances.
2. Something that refines, purifies, or transforms.
Etymology
From Middle English alambic, from Old French, from Medieval Latin alembicus, from Arabic al-anbiq (the still), from Greek ambix (cup)
| Archaeology Dictionary: alembic |
The upper part of a two-piece round container used in distillation. A downward-sloping spout allows a condensed distillate to run into another vessel.
| Obscure Words: alembic |
| Wikipedia: Alembic |
An alembic (from semitic ambikon to Greek ambix to Arabic Al-inbiq الأنبيق)[1] is an alchemical still consisting of two retorts connected by a tube. Technically, the alembic is only the upper part (the capital or still-head), while the lower part is the cucurbit, but the word was often used to refer to the entire distillation apparatus. A modern descendant of the alembic (used to produce alcohol) is the pot still. It was described by Al-Razi in the 9th century in his "Book of Secrets".
The word "alembic" has taken on a metaphorical meaning - anything that refines or transmutes, as if by distillation - as in "the alembic of creative thought."
The word, as most alchemical terminology, comes from the Arabic: al-inbiq, meaning "still".
The French spelling alambic is also commonly used, especially as the apparatus is often associated with Cognac where it is known as alambic charentais.
The alembic symbol is Unicode U+2697 ALEMBIC (⚗).
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Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Alembic. |
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Copyrights:
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 | Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Wordsmith Words. © 2009 Wordsmith.org. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Archaeology Dictionary. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology. Copyright © 2002, 2003 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Obscure Words. © 2008 by Michael A. Fischer http://home.comcast.net/~wwftd. Read more |
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| Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Alembic". Read more |
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