alembic means an early chemical apparatus, consisting of two retorts connected by a tube, used to purify substances by distillation. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 86 out of 100.
alembic is pronounced /əˈlɛm.bɪk/.
Why “alembic” is a great word
ALEMBIC — [Noun] An early compound apparatus for distillation, consisting of two connected vessels—a heated pot for boiling and a cooled head for condensing vapor. Its name descends from Middle English alambic, from Old French alambic, from Medieval Latin alembīcus, from Arabic الإِنْبِيق (al-ʔinbīq, “the still”), from Ancient Greek ἄμβιξ (ámbix, “cup, cap of a still”). First recorded in English in the late 14th century. Unlike a “retort,” a single vessel for decomposition, or a “crucible,” a resilient container for melting metals, the alembic is a dedicated architecture for purification. It is the base liquid simmering in the cucurbit, the vapors rising through the serpentine neck to condense, and the patient warmth coaxing vapor into liquid purity—a humble machine built on the ancient faith that everything contains a soul waiting to be released.
Etymology
From French alambic, from Medieval Latin alembīcus, from Arabic الإِنْبِيق (al-ʔinbīq), from Ancient Greek ἄμβιξ (ámbix, “cup, cap of a still”). Doublet of ambix and lambic.
noun
- An early chemical apparatus, consisting of two retorts connected by a tube, used to purify substances by distillation.“Ideal beauty is not the mind’s creation: it is real beauty, refined and purified in the mind’s alembic, from the alloy which always more or less accompanies it in our mixed and imperfect nature.”