Etymologically
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chemical

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 15 October 2026 at 23:18. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈkem.ɪ.kəl/[1]

Etymology

It is an alteration of earlier chimical,[2][3] formed from chimic “of alchemy” and the suffix -al.[4][2] Chimic is a worn-down form, which came from Medieval Latin alchimicus,[4] probably through New Latin chimicus, short for alchimicus,[3][5] from alchimia, the source of alchemy.[3][4] It may have been influenced by French chimique (1558).[3][5] The spelling with e became established in the 1800s.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Relating to the practice of chemistry, or obtained by it: 1576 in the OED, MWU and Barnhart,[6][2][3] the 1570s in Etymonline, also of alchemy in early use.[4]

Semantic evolution

The sense “of the alchemist” (1594) is obsolete,[6] as is the use for the Paracelsian school of medicine (1621).[6] The noun, a substance produced by or used in chemistry, is from 1747,[4][6] and the modern sense relating to the science of chemistry from 1791.[6] Chemical warfare is attested from 1917,[4] and chemical weapon from 1920.[6] In slang a chemical is also a drug, especially an illegal one.[7]

Timeline

  • 1576 – relating to chemistry.[6][3]
  • 1594 – alchemical (obsolete).[6]
  • 1747 – noun, a chemical substance.[4][6]
  • 1791 – relating to the science of chemistry.[6]
  • 1917 – chemical warfare.[4]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Of or relating to chemistry or to the properties and reactions of substances.
  2. Made by or using chemical processes: chemical fertilizers.

Noun

  1. A substance with a definite composition, produced by or used in a chemical process.
  2. (informal) A drug, especially an illegal or addictive one.

Word family

  • chemically
  • agrichemical
  • agrochemical
  • biochemical
  • fluorochemical
  • mechanochemical
  • neurochemical
  • nonchemical

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin