1. An apparatus consisting of two vessels connected by a tube, formerly used for distilling liquids.
2. A device that purifies or alters by a process comparable to distillation.

[Middle English alambic, from Old French, from Medieval Latin alembicus, from Arabic al-'anbīq : al-, the + 'anbīq, still (from Greek ambix, cup).]

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.