Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online

Get access

Chemical sciences
(6,340 words)

1. Knowledge and theory

1.1. Introduction

Chemistry (the term may derive from the Egyptian kmt, the word for the black earth of Egypt, or from the Greek chēmeía or chymeía, ‘art of alloying metals’) includes various procedures and bodies of knowledge concerning the manufacture, purification, and transformation of materials. Their origins lie in metallurgy, the making of dye and glass, the manufacture of medicines, and foodstuffs technology. It was synonym…

Cite this page
Meinel, Christoph, “Chemical sciences”, in: Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online, Editors of the English edition: Graeme Dunphy, Andrew Gow. Original German Edition: Enzyklopädie der Neuzeit. Im Auftrag des Kulturwissenschaftlichen Instituts (Essen) und in Verbindung mit den Fachherausgebern herausgegeben von Friedrich Jaeger. Copyright © J.B. Metzlersche Verlagsbuchhandlung und Carl Ernst Poeschel Verlag GmbH 2005–2012. Consulted online on 19 March 2024 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2352-0272_emho_COM_018011>
First published online: 2015
First print edition: 20160907



▲   Back to top   ▲