alembic

views updated Jun 08 2018

alembic former distilling apparatus. XIV. ME. alambic, alembike — (O)F. alambic — medL. alembicus — Arab. al-'anbīḳ i.e. AL-2, 'anbīḳ still — Gr. ámbix, ambīk- cup, cap of still. Almost superseded by the aphetic limbeck (earlier lembik) from XV to XVII, when the full form again came into vogue.

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology T. F. HOAD

alembic

views updated May 29 2018

a·lem·bic / əˈlembik/ • n. a distilling apparatus, now obsolete, consisting of a flask and a cap with a long beak.

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English

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