First attested 1562;, from French chimiste, from Medieval Latin chimista for earlier alchimista, from Arabic الكيمياء (al-kímiya’), from article al- + Ancient Greek χυμεία (khumeía, “art of alloying metals”), from χύμα (khúma, “fluid”), from χυμός (khumós, “juice”), from χέω (khéō, “I pour”).
chemist (plural chemists)
- A person whose occupation specializes in the science of chemistry, especially at a professional level.
2013 August 10, “A new prescription”, The Economist, volume 408, number 8848:
- As the world's drug habit shows, governments are failing in their quest to monitor every London window-box and Andean hillside for banned plants. But even that Sisyphean task looks easy next to the fight against synthetic drugs. No sooner has a drug been blacklisted than chemists adjust their recipe and start churning out a subtly different one.
- (chiefly UK, New Zealand) A pharmacist.
- (chiefly UK, New Zealand) A pharmacy.
- (obsolete) An alchemist.
- (pharmacist): apothecary, druggist, pharmacist
- (pharmacy): chemist's (British), chemist's shop (British), drugstore (US), pharmacy (especially US)