OHIGIN OP THE WORD CHEMISTRY. 79 



In the Arabic Lexicon (Qamus) al-iksir is explained by 

 al-kimiyd, and the latter again by the former^ or by any 

 medium -which, applied to a metal, transports it into the 

 sphere of the sun or the moon, i. e. converts it into gold 

 or silver. 



Even to this day the word is used in the concrete sense ; 

 Kotschy^ relates that the pasha of Nicosia talked much 

 of flowers, chiefly kiniia, a plant having the property of 

 converting metals into gold. 



The later writers, however, called the science shortly 

 al-Mmiyd, and retained the term al-iksir (elixir) for the 

 transmuting medium or the philosopher's stone. This 

 latter word is identical with ^rjpiov, as the writers of the 

 Alexandrine school called the philosopher's stone t; while 

 the same name was employed by the physicians for a 

 healing powder used for sprinkling over wounds, i. e. a 

 desiccative powder (from ^r}p6<i, dry) J. 



Now the correlate to dry is moist or liquid, ^u/io?; and 

 from tbis is derived 'Xjufieia, a moist substance corresponding 

 to 'kiOeia, a material formed of \i6o<i, or Kepa/xela, the 

 occupation with Kepafxo<;. 



Ibn Khaldun, who lived in the 14th century, says that 

 from the philosopher's stone a liquid or a powder might 

 be prepared called iksir, which, when thrown on molten 

 copper converted it into silver, and molten silver into gold. 

 In opposition to its etymology the word is here used for a 

 liquid, because at that time Mmiyd no longer meant the 

 transmuting substance, but the science of transmutation ; 

 and this explains why today we may understand by ^^ elixir" 

 a liquid. 



* Petermann's Geog. Mitth. \iii. p. 294. 



t Kopp. op. cit. p. 209. 



\ Zosimus calls the substance by wliich copper is tinged yellow or con- 

 Terted into brass to Sia rfjs OovOias Kt'ipiov, a powder prepared hj means of 

 tutia ; now tutia (zinc oxide) is still today used in medicine as a desiccative. 



