alembic

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. An early chemical apparatus, consisting of two retorts connected by a tube, used to purify substances by distillation.

Pronunciation

/əˈlɛm.bɪk/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-alembic.wav

Word forms

alembic alembics alembick limbeck

Etymology

From French alambic, from Medieval Latin alembīcus, from Arabic الإِنْبِيق (al-ʔinbīq), from Ancient Greek ἄμβιξ (ámbix, “cup, cap of a still”). Doublet of ambix and lambic.

Related words

flask balloon flask receiver retort test tube

Derived words

This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.