Alkahest
the universal solvent sought by the alchemists.
Historical Examples
These preparations now prevented Claes from thinking, for the time being, of the alkahest.
The Alkahest Honore de Balzac
It was the only moment for sixteen long years when Balthazar forgot the alkahest.
The Alkahest Honore de Balzac
alkahest, Alcahest, al′ka-hest, n. the universal solvent of the alchemists.
Chambers’s Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D) Various
The idea of the alkahest had swept like a conflagration through the building.
The Alkahest Honore de Balzac
Paracelsus, a bold empiric and wild Caballist, asserted that he had discovered it, and called it his ‘alkahest’.
The PG Edition of Chesterfield’s Letters to His Son The Earl of Chesterfield
She must bring down the spirit of the sun and blend it with her own—for wheat partakes of the alkahest.
Child and Country Will Levington Comfort
noun
the hypothetical universal solvent sought by alchemists
n.
“universal solvent sought by alchemists,” 1640s, from French alcahest, from Medieval Latin alcahest, a pseudo-Arabic word coined by Paracelsus (see alchemy).
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