Where does “alquimia” come from?
alquimia (Old Portuguese) comes from Medieval Latin alchemia, from Arabic كيمياء, from Ancient Greek χυμείᾱ, from Ancient Greek χύμα, from Ancient Greek -μᾰ, from Proto-Indo-European -mn̥ — Creates action nouns or result nouns from verbs.
Ancestry of “alquimia”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Medieval Latin | alchemia | alchemy |
| 2 | Arabic | كيمياء | chemistry |
| 3 | Ancient Greek | χυμείᾱ | art of alloying metals, alchemy |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | χύμα | that which is poured out or flows, fluid; ingot,... |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | -μᾰ | "suffix forming a noun denoting the result of an... |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | -mn̥ | Creates action nouns or result nouns from verbs |