alkahestn.

Brit.

/ˈalkəhɛst/, U.S.

/ˈælkəˌhɛst/

Forms: 1600s alchahest, 1600s– alcahest, 1600s– alkahest.

Origin: A borrowing from Latin. Etymon: Latin alcahest.

Etymology: < post-classical Latin alcahest (1648 in the passage translated in quot. 1662 at sense 1), first used by Paracelsus, and believed to have been arbitrarily invented by him with a form imitating Arabic nouns with preceding definite article (compare e.g. alchemy n., alcohol n., alkali n., and their ultimate Arabic etymons).Although quot. 1705 at sense 1 suggests a German origin for post-classical Latin alcahest , there is no evidence for the suggested German form *al-gehest (or similar); although German Allgeist ‘universal spirit’ ( < all- , combining form of alles all adj. + Geist ghost n.) is occasionally used in occult and theosophical contexts, there appears to be no evidence for it before the 19th cent. See further P. A. Porto in Bulletin of the History of Medicine 76 (2002) 1–29.

1. A hypothetical universal solvent sought by alchemists. Now historical.Also called Fire of Hell.

ΘΚΠ

the world > matter > alchemy > other alchemical substances or theories > [noun] > universal solvent

fireOE

philosophers' vinegar1612

alkahest1651

fire of Hell1658

firewater1664

philosophical vinegar1694

1651 J. French Art Distillation v. 109 With his Alkahest [printed Altahest] all stones..may be turned into water.

1658 G. Starkey Natures Explic. 241 By Cohobation with the Fire of Hell (that is, the Alcahest).

1662 J. Chandler tr. J. B. van Helmont Oriatrike xi. 65 The Alkahest [L. alcahest] of Paracelsus, by piercing all Bodies of nature, transchangeth them by making them subtile.

1705 W. Yworth Compl. Distiller 243 The great Hilech..of Paracelsus, called by his great Interpreter Van Helmont, Alkahest, from the German word Al-gehest, which signifies All Spirit.

1776 G. Campbell Philos. of Rhetoric I. i. xi. 304 In almost all system-builders.., there is a vehement desire of simplifying their principles, and reducing all to one. Hence in medicine, the passion for finding a catholicon, or cure of all diseases; and in chymistry, for discovering the true alcahest, or universal dissolvent.

1812 H. Davy Elements Chem. Philos. 323 The alkahest, or universal solvent imagined by the alchemists.

1887 K. P. Wormeley tr. H. de Balzac Alkahest (1896) vi. 103 From this unimpeachable experiment..I deduce the existence of the Alkahest, the Absolute,—a substance common to all created things, differentiated by one primary force.

1952 E. Farber Evol. Chem. iv. 54 Paracelsus and Van Helmont believed they had found it [sc. a universal solvent] in a mystical alkahest which was variously identified with an essence of salt or a philosophical fire.

1988 Osiris 4 21 He had found at last the legendary alkahest that would resolve things into their elemental constituents.

2002 W. R. Newman & L. M. Principe Alchemy tried in Fire vi. 289 The alkahest, on the other hand, works sine repassione—it does not undergo any change as a result of dissolving another substance, but rather can be recovered intact from the dissolved material, retaining its powers of dissolution unimpaired indefinitely.

2. figurative. Something that is universally applicable and powerful in its effect.

ΚΠ

1706 E. Taylor Poems (1989) 199 This is the Heavenly Alkahest that brings Lean Souls t'ore thrive all Pharoa's fattest Ware.

1819 Ladies' Lit. Cabinet 20 Nov. 11/2 Throw upon the soul of virtue the alkahest, vice, which destroys it for ever.

1898 Evening Herald (Syracuse, N.Y.) 26 Mar. 4/5 Love is the one true alkahest.

1925 G.S. Hellman Washington Irving vii. 135 The alkahest of his genius transmuting into golden literature the legends and the fairy-stories of Europe.

1965 Jrnl. Higher Educ. 36 185 There is no secret formula, no magic prescription, no Great Alkahest.

2003 India Today (Nexis) 15 Sept. (Books) 65 But in the end, the literary alkahest yields only two metals of narration—the direct and indirect.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2009; most recently modified version published online December 2021).

单词	alkahest
释义	alkahestn. Brit. /ˈalkəhɛst/, U.S. /ˈælkəˌhɛst/ Forms: 1600s alchahest, 1600s– alcahest, 1600s– alkahest. Origin: A borrowing from Latin. Etymon: Latin alcahest. Etymology: < post-classical Latin alcahest (1648 in the passage translated in quot. 1662 at sense 1), first used by Paracelsus, and believed to have been arbitrarily invented by him with a form imitating Arabic nouns with preceding definite article (compare e.g. alchemy n., alcohol n., alkali n., and their ultimate Arabic etymons).Although quot. 1705 at sense 1 suggests a German origin for post-classical Latin alcahest , there is no evidence for the suggested German form al-gehest (or similar); although German Allgeist* ‘universal spirit’ ( < all- , combining form of alles all adj. + Geist ghost n.) is occasionally used in occult and theosophical contexts, there appears to be no evidence for it before the 19th cent. See further P. A. Porto in Bulletin of the History of Medicine 76 (2002) 1–29. 1. A hypothetical universal solvent sought by alchemists. Now historical.Also called Fire of Hell. ΘΚΠ the world > matter > alchemy > other alchemical substances or theories > [noun] > universal solvent fireOE philosophers' vinegar1612 alkahest1651 fire of Hell1658 firewater1664 philosophical vinegar1694 1651 J. French Art Distillation v. 109 With his Alkahest [printed Altahest] all stones..may be turned into water. 1658 G. Starkey Natures Explic. 241 By Cohobation with the Fire of Hell (that is, the Alcahest). 1662 J. Chandler tr. J. B. van Helmont Oriatrike xi. 65 The Alkahest [L. alcahest] of Paracelsus, by piercing all Bodies of nature, transchangeth them by making them subtile. 1705 W. Yworth Compl. Distiller 243 The great Hilech..of Paracelsus, called by his great Interpreter Van Helmont, Alkahest, from the German word Al-gehest, which signifies All Spirit. 1776 G. Campbell Philos. of Rhetoric I. i. xi. 304 In almost all system-builders.., there is a vehement desire of simplifying their principles, and reducing all to one. Hence in medicine, the passion for finding a catholicon, or cure of all diseases; and in chymistry, for discovering the true alcahest, or universal dissolvent. 1812 H. Davy Elements Chem. Philos. 323 The alkahest, or universal solvent imagined by the alchemists. 1887 K. P. Wormeley tr. H. de Balzac Alkahest (1896) vi. 103 From this unimpeachable experiment..I deduce the existence of the Alkahest, the Absolute,—a substance common to all created things, differentiated by one primary force. 1952 E. Farber Evol. Chem. iv. 54 Paracelsus and Van Helmont believed they had found it [sc. a universal solvent] in a mystical alkahest which was variously identified with an essence of salt or a philosophical fire. 1988 Osiris 4 21 He had found at last the legendary alkahest that would resolve things into their elemental constituents. 2002 W. R. Newman & L. M. Principe Alchemy tried in Fire vi. 289 The alkahest, on the other hand, works sine repassione—it does not undergo any change as a result of dissolving another substance, but rather can be recovered intact from the dissolved material, retaining its powers of dissolution unimpaired indefinitely. 2. figurative. Something that is universally applicable and powerful in its effect. ΚΠ 1706 E. Taylor Poems (1989) 199 This is the Heavenly Alkahest that brings Lean Souls t'ore thrive all Pharoa's fattest Ware. 1819 Ladies' Lit. Cabinet 20 Nov. 11/2 Throw upon the soul of virtue the alkahest, vice, which destroys it for ever. 1898 Evening Herald (Syracuse, N.Y.) 26 Mar. 4/5 Love is the one true alkahest. 1925 G.S. Hellman Washington Irving vii. 135 The alkahest of his genius transmuting into golden literature the legends and the fairy-stories of Europe. 1965 Jrnl. Higher Educ. 36 185 There is no secret formula, no magic prescription, no Great Alkahest. 2003 India Today (Nexis) 15 Sept. (Books) 65 But in the end, the literary alkahest yields only two metals of narration—the direct and indirect. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2009; most recently modified version published online December 2021). < n.1651
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