In the history of science

History of science

The history of science is the study of the historical development of human understandings of the natural world and the domains of the social sciences....

, the etymology

Etymology

Etymology is the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time.For languages with a long written history, etymologists make use of texts in these languages and texts about the languages to gather knowledge about how words were used during...

 of the word chemistry

Chemistry

Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....

is a debatable issue. It is agreed that the word derives from the word alchemy

Alchemy

Alchemy is an influential philosophical tradition whose early practitioners’ claims to profound powers were known from antiquity. The defining objectives of alchemy are varied; these include the creation of the fabled philosopher's stone possessing powers including the capability of turning base...

, which is a European one, derived from the Arabic al-kīmīā (الكيمياء). The Arabic term is derived from the Greek χημία or χημεία. However, the ultimate origin of the root word, chem, is uncertain.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary

Oxford English Dictionary

The Oxford English Dictionary , published by the Oxford University Press, is the self-styled premier dictionary of the English language. Two fully bound print editions of the OED have been published under its current name, in 1928 and 1989. The first edition was published in twelve volumes , and...

, the majority theory is that al-kīmīā is derived from χημία, which is derived from the ancient Egyptian

Egyptian language

Egyptian is the oldest known indigenous language of Egypt and a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. Written records of the Egyptian language have been dated from about 3400 BC, making it one of the oldest recorded languages known. Egyptian was spoken until the late 17th century AD in the...

 name of Egypt (khem, khame, or khmi, meaning "black earth", contrasting with the surrounding desert.) Therefore, alchemy is the "Egyptian art".