a form of chemistry studied in the Middle Ages that involved trying to discover how to change ordinary metals into gold 炼金术（见于中世纪，企图把普通金属炼成黄金） - (literary)
a mysterious power or magic that can change things （改变事物的）神秘力量，魔力
Word Originlate Middle English: via Old French and medieval Latin from Arabic al-kīmiyā', from al ‘the’ + kīmiyā' (from Greek khēmia, khēmeia ‘art of transmuting metals’).