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chemistry

Etymology and origin of the English word chemistry

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
a1600
Ultimate origin
English (chemist,-ry)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈkem.ɪ.stri/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English chemist + -ry,[2][3] altered from earlier chimistry, chymistry under the influence of Late Greek chēmeia “alchemy”[4] (see chemical and alchemy).[2] The archaic spelling chymistry lasted alongside it.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Alchemy: about 1600 in Etymonline, 1605 in the OED and MWU.[2][5][4] A figurative use, referring to the results of alchemy, is from before 1600.[5]

Semantic evolution

Natural chemical processes are from the 1640s,[2][5] and medicine practised on chemical, Paracelsian lines from 1674.[5] Chemistry separated itself from alchemy in Europe in the mid-17th century, with the founding of the Accademia del Cimento (1657), the Royal Society (1660) and the Paris Académie (1666),[2] and the sense of the science of the composition of substances and their changes is by 1788.[2][5] The figurative sense of instinctive attraction or affinity is attested by about 1600 from the alchemical sense,[2] and of attraction between people the Historical Thesaurus dates from 1898.[6]

Timeline

  • a1600 – figurative, of alchemy's effects.[5]
  • 1605 – alchemy.[5]
  • 1640s – natural chemical processes.[2]
  • 1674 – chemical medicine.[5]
  • 1788 – the science.[5][2]
  • 1898 – attraction between people.[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The science of the composition, structure and properties of substances and the changes they undergo.
  2. The chemical composition and reactions of a substance or organism.
  3. A strong mutual attraction or understanding between people.

Word family

  • actinochemistry
  • astrochemistry
  • biochemistry
  • biogeochemistry
  • cosmochemistry
  • cytochemistry
  • electrochemistry
  • geochemistry

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 d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)
Cite this entry

“Chemistry.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/chemistry. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·