* The Arabic al-kimia itself is consequent from the Long forgotten Greek chemeia () with the addition of the Arabic perfect fad al-.
* Alchemy has been skillful in ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, India, Persia, China, Korea, Japan, the exemplar Greco-Roman world, the medieval Islamic world, and along with medieval Europe.
* The start of Western alchemy are distinguishable back to ancient Egypt. The Leyden papyrus X and the Stockholm papyrus downward with the Greek magical papyri earn the to begin with "book" on alchemy calm down honest.
* The best-known goals of the alchemists were the transmutation of recurring metals here gold (called chrysopoeia) or silver (less well recognized is plant alchemy, or "spagyric"); the outcome of a "analgesic", or the elixir of life, a absolute that, it was assumed, would treatment all diseases and widen life indefinitely; and the discovery of a complete solvent.