Etymology

The word chemistry comes from the word alchemy, an earlier set of practices that encompassed elements of chemistry, metallurgy, philosophy, astrology, astronomy, mysticism and medicine; it is commonly thought of as the quest to turn lead or another common starting material into gold.^[8] The word alchemy in turn is derived from the Arabic word al-kīmīā (الكيمياء). The Arabic term is borrowed from the Greek χημία or χημεία.^[9][10] This may have Egyptian origins. Many believe that al-kīmīā is derived from χημία, which is in turn derived from the word Chemi or Kimi, which is the ancient name of Egypt in Egyptian.^[9] Alternately, al-kīmīā may be derived from χημεία, meaning "cast together".^[11]
An alchemist was called a 'chemist' in popular speech, and later the suffix "-ry" was added to this to describe the art of the chemist as "chemistry".