Alchemy vs Alkemy: Spelling, Origin, and Modern Usage

The word alchemy has been spelled at least seven different ways in serious literature, and the spelling on the cover of a book tells you something about the audience the publisher has in mind. Alchemy, the modern English standard, signals an academic or popular history. Alchymy or Alkymia signals an esoteric or Rosicrucian imprint. Alchymie is a French seventeenth-century convention. Alkemy is a modern simplification preferred by writers who want to emphasize the Egyptian origin of the word. The variants are not just typographical noise. They carry information about who is using the word and to what end (Holmyard, Alchemy, 1957, pp. 13-20; Newman, Promethean Ambitions, 2004, pp. 1-15; Principe, The Secrets of Alchemy, 2013, pp. 1-12).

The etymology, briefly

The etymology of alchemy is genuinely debated, and a few things can be said with confidence. The most widely accepted theory derives the word from the Greek khēmia (χημεία), which may have referred to the black alluvial soil of the Nile and, by extension, to the art of working that soil. The Greek khēmia may itself be derived from the Egyptian kēme or khēme, the name of the black earth of Egypt (Holmyard, 1957, pp. 13-20). The case for the Egyptian origin is the one I find most persuasive, partly because of the Greek transliteration, partly because of the early Greek testimony.

An older alternative derives the word from the Greek khymeia (χυμεία), a word meaning “casting” or “pouring,” which was used to refer to the art of casting metals. The khymeia theory is supported by some scholars, but it is less widely accepted than the khēmia theory (Newman, 2004, pp. 1-15). A third theory — that the word has a Chinese source — was popularized by Joseph Needham, but the claim should be handled carefully. Needham proposed the jin (金) source for the Chinese neidan (internal alchemy) tradition, not for the etymology of the Western word alchemy (Needham, Science and Civilisation in China, vol. 5, pt. 3, 1976). Earlier popularizations sometimes conflated the two claims, and the conflation should be set aside. The Chinese etymology of the Western word is not supported by the philological evidence.

The Greek khēmia was borrowed into Arabic as al-kīmiyā’, with the Arabic definite article al-. The Arabic word entered medieval Latin as alchemia or alchymia, and from the Latin it entered the European languages. The word has been in continuous use in the Western tradition for more than a thousand years, and the meaning has shifted with the times (Principe, 2013, pp. 1-12).

The seven spellings, in order of frequency

The major variants of the spelling, in the order one is most likely to encounter them:

Alchemy. The standard modern English spelling, derived from the medieval Latin alchemia. The spelling has been standard in English since the late seventeenth century.
Alchymy or Alchymie. An older English and French spelling, common in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The spelling preserves the Greek khymeia root. Thomas Vaughan used it; Isaac Newton used it in his alchemical manuscripts.
Alkemy. A modern English variant, sometimes used in popular and esoteric writing. The spelling simplifies the Greek and Latin roots and is preferred by writers who want to emphasize the Egyptian origin of the word.
Alchemie. The modern German and French spelling, derived from the medieval Latin alchemia. The spelling is standard in German and French, and it is the form used in many translations of alchemical texts.
Alchimie. An older French spelling, common in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Nicolas Flamel used it. The spelling preserves the Greek root.
Alkymia. A Greek-influenced variant, sometimes used in modern esoteric writing. The spelling preserves the Greek root and is preferred by writers who want to emphasize the Greek origin of the word.
Khemit or Khemetic. Modern variants derived from the Egyptian kēme, sometimes used in Afrocentric and Egyptian-revival contexts. The spelling emphasizes the African origin of the tradition.

The variants are not interchangeable, and the choice of spelling is a real choice, not a typographical accident. The choice signals affiliation.

The historical usage

The spelling of the word was not standardized in the alchemical tradition, and different writers used different spellings within a single text. The medieval Latin writers used alchemia and alchymia interchangeably. The Greek writers used khēmia and khymeia interchangeably. The Arabic writers used al-kīmiyā’ in the singular, and the European translators Latinized it variously. The English alchemists of the seventeenth century used alchemy and alchymy, sometimes in adjacent sentences. Thomas Vaughan used alchymy in his major works; Robert Boyle used alchemy in his chemical writings. The spelling was not a reliable indicator of the writer’s theoretical commitments, and the inconsistency is itself a fact about the tradition. The alchemists were not yet the kind of community that standardized their terminology.

The standardization of the spelling in English came in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, with the rise of the modern chemical tradition. The chemical writers preferred alchemy. The esoteric writers often preferred alchymy or alkymia, and the preference is one of the ways the two communities distinguished themselves from each other. The distinction has not disappeared. The publication Alchemy Journal and the journal Ambix are not the same community, and the different spellings on the masthead are part of how the difference is signaled.

The modern esoteric usage

The modern esoteric tradition has preserved the older variants, and the use of alchymy or alkymia is a marker of an esoteric commitment. The Theosophical Society, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, the Anthroposophical Society, and the various modern Rosicrucian orders often use the older variants in their official publications. The use of the older variant does more than signal stylistic preference. The older variants carry a different set of connotations than the modern alchemy, and the use of the older variant signals that the writer is working within the alchemical tradition as a living practice, not treating alchemy as a chapter in the history of chemistry. A book titled The Hermetic and Alchemical Writings of Paracelsus is a different kind of book from one titled The Chemistry of the Sixteenth Century, and the difference is partly signaled by the spelling on the cover.

The modern academic and popular usage

In modern English, alchemy is the standard spelling, and the other variants are mostly confined to the esoteric and academic literatures. The standard dictionaries prefer alchemy. The standard reference works use alchemy as the headword. The major journals of the history of chemistry and esotericism — Ambix, Aries, Bulletin of the History of Chemistry — use alchemy as the standard spelling. The modern popular literature, including the fantasy and science fiction genres, uses alchemy as the standard spelling. The Harry Potter series uses alchemy (and the related alchemist), and the Fullmetal Alchemist series uses alchemist and alchemy. The spagyric and alchemical revival, on the other hand, often uses the older variants. The Weleda company, the spagyric practitioners, and the various modern alchemical associations use alkymia or alchymie in their publications, and the usage is a marker of practical rather than historical engagement with the tradition.

Which spelling to use

The choice of spelling is a real choice, and the choice depends on the context. For most modern English writing — academic, popular, journalistic — alchemy is the right choice. The spelling is the standard modern English spelling, it is the form that will be recognized by the broadest audience, and it is the form used in the standard reference works. For esoteric or academic writing about the alchemical tradition as a living practice, the use of an older variant may be appropriate. The use of alchymy or alkymia signals an affiliation with the alchemical tradition, and the signal is honest. The worst choice, in my view, is inconsistency — switching between alchemy and alchymy in the same text, for instance, which suggests the writer does not know what the different spellings mean. The most important thing is to be consistent, and to know why one is making the choice one is making.