(i) Medieval chemical science, which sought the transmutation of other metals into gold, a universal cure for disease, and a formula for long life. (2) The art of extracting juices from plants for medicinal purposes. (3) In occult terminology, the chemistry of nature: based on primary assumption that there exists a universal solvent by which all atomic elements can be transformed into their original substance.
Gilding pale streams with heavenly alchemy. Shakespeare.
