azoth

n.
Mercury considered in alchemy to be the primary source of all metals.

[Middle English azoc, from Old French, from Arabic az-zā'uq, the mercury : al-, the + zā'uq, mercury (from Syriac zīwag , of Iranian origin).]

Name given by ancient alchemists to Mercury, also known as Astral Quintessence, Flying Salve, Animated Spirit, Ethelia, and Auraric. The term also implied the essential element of the transmutation process.

Sources:

Waite, A. E. Azoth; or, The Star in the East. London, 1893. Reprint, New Hyde Park, N.Y.: University Books, 1973.