Greek Origin
Arabic al-kīmiyaʼ or al-khīmiyaʼ (الكيمياء or الخيمياء), according to some, is thought to derive from the late Greek word khymeia (χυμεία) meaning "the art of alloying metals, alchemy"; in the manuscripts, this word is also written khēmeia (χημεία) or kheimeia (χειμεία), which is the probable basis of the Arabic form. According to Mahn, the Greek word χυμεία khumeia originally meant "pouring together", "casting together", "weld", "alloy", etc. (cf. Gk. kheein (χέειν) "to pour"; khuma(χύμα), "that which is poured out, an ingot"). Assuming a Greek origin, chemistry is defined as follows:
- Chemistry, from the Greek word χημεία (khēmeia) meaning "cast together" or "pour together", is the science of matter at the atomic to molecular scale, dealing primarily with collections of atoms, such as molecules, crystals, and metals.
Read more about this topic: Chemistry (etymology)
Famous quotes containing the words greek and/or origin:
“It is an elegant refinement that God learned Greek when he wanted to become a writer—and that he did not learn it better.”
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