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alembic

 
Dictionary: a·lem·bic   (ə-lĕm'bĭk) pronunciation
 
n.
  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).]


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[Ar]

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
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an apparatus formerly used in distilling; also fig.
 
WordNet: alembic
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Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The noun has one meaning:

Meaning #1: an obsolete kind of container used for distillation; two retorts connected by a tube


 
Wikipedia: Alembic
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Schematic
Distillation by Alembic
In 3D

An alembic (from Arabic Al-inbiq الأنبيق) 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.

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, "still;" ultimately from the Greek ambix, "cup."

The French spelling alambic is also commonly used, especially as the apparatus is often associated with Cognac where it is known as alambic charentais. Charente is the area where the grapes must be grown and the brandy itself produced in order to be rightfully called Cognac.

The alembic symbol is Unicode U+2697 ALEMBIC ().

See also

References

External links

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Alembic.

 
 
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Copyrights:

Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Archaeology Dictionary. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology. Copyright © 2002, 2003 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.  Read more
Obscure Words. © 2008 by Michael A. Fischer http://home.comcast.net/~wwftd Read more
WordNet. WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Alembic" Read more