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Webster 1913 Edition
Alkahest
Al′ka-hest
,Noun.
[LL.
alchahest
, F. alcahest
, a word that has an Arabic appearance, but was probably arbitrarily formed by Paracelsus.] The fabled “universal solvent” of the alchemists; a menstruum capable of dissolving all bodies.
– Alˊka-hes′tic
, Adj.
Webster 1828 Edition
Alkahest
AL'KAHEST
,Noun.
A universal dissolvent; a menstrumm capable of dissolving every body, which Paracelsus and Van Helmont pretended they possessed. This pretense no longer imposses on the credulity of any man.
The word is sometimes used for fixed salts volatilized.