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Alchemy studies produced a number of substances, which were laterclassified as particularchemical compounds or mixture of compounds.

Many of these terms were in common use into the 20th century.

• Antimony/Stibnium – Sb
• Bismuth (German:Wismuth) – Bi
• Copper/Cuprum – associated withVenus. Cu
• Gold/Aurum – associated with theSun. Au
• Iron/Ferrum – associated withMars. Fe
• Lead/Plumbum – associated withSaturn. Pb
• Quicksilver/Hydrargyrum – associated withMercury. Hg
• Silver/Argentum – associated with theMoon. Ag
• Tin/Stannum – associated withJupiter. Sn

• Bluestone – Mineral form ofCopper(II) Sulfate Pentahydrate, also called Blue Vitriol.
• Borax –Sodium Borate; was also used to refer to other related minerals.
• Cadmia/Tuttia/Tutty – ProbablyZinc Carbonate.
• Calamine –Zinc Carbonate.
• Calomel/Horn Quicksilver/Horn Mercury –Mercury(I) Chloride, a very poisonous purgative formed by subliming a mixture of Mercuric Chloride and Metallic Mercury, triturated in a mortar and heated in an Iron pot. The crust formed on the lid was ground to powder and boiled with water to remove the Calomel.
• Calx –Calcium Oxide; was also used to refer to other metal oxides.
• Chalcanthum – The residue produced by strongly roasting Blue Vitriol (Copper Sulfate); it is composed mostly ofCupric Oxide.
• Chalk – A rock composed of porous biogenicCalcium Carbonate, CaCO₃
• Chrome green –Chromic Oxide andCobalt Oxide.
• Chrome Orange – Chrome Yellow and Chrome Red.
• Chrome Red – BasicLead Chromate – PbCrO₄+PbO
• Chrome Yellow/Paris Yellow/Leipzig Yellow–Lead Chromate, PbCrO₄
• Cinnabar/vermilion – Refers to several substances, among them:Mercury(II) Sulfide (HgS), or nativeVermilion (the common ore ofMercury).
• Copper Glance –Copper(I) Sulfide ore.
• Cuprite –Copper(I) Oxide ore.
• Dutch White – A pigment formed from one part of White Lead to three ofBarium Sulfate. BaSO₄
• Flowers of Antimony –Antimony Trioxide, formed by roastingStibnite at high temperature and condensing the white fumes that form Sb₂O₃.
• Fool's Gold – A mineral,Iron Disulfide orPyrite; can formOil of Vitriol on contact with water and air.
• Fulminating Silver – Principally,Silver Nitride, formed by dissolvingSilver(I) Oxide inammonia. Very explosive when dry.
• Fulminating Gold – A number of gold based explosives which "fulminate", or detonate easily.
  • Gold Hydrazide, formed by adding ammonia to the Auric Hydroxide. When dry, can explode on concussion.
  • An unstable Gold Carbonate formed by precipitation by potash from Gold dissolved inAqua Regia.
• Galena –Lead(II) Sulfide,Lead ore.
• Glass of Antimony – ImpureAntimony Tetroxide, Sb₂O₄ formed by roasting stibnite. A yellow pigment for glass and porcelain.
• Gypsum – a mineral;calcium sulfate. CaSO₄
• Horn silver/argentum cornu – a weathered form ofchlorargyrite, an ore of silver chloride.

• Luna cornea –silver chloride, formed by heating horn silver till it liquefies and then cooling.

• King's yellow – formed by mixingorpiment withwhite arsenic.
• Lapis solaris (Bologna stone) –barium sulfide – 1603,Vincenzo Cascariolo.
• Lead fume –lead oxide, found in flues at lead smelters.
• Lime/quicklime (burnt lime)/calx viva/unslaked lime –calcium oxide, formed by calcininglimestone

• Slaked lime –calcium hydroxide. Ca(OH)₂

• Marcasite – a mineral;iron disulfide. In moist air it turns into green vitriol, FeSO₄.
• Massicot –lead monoxide. PbO

• Litharge –lead monoxide, formed by fusing and powdering massicot.
• Minium/red lead –trilead tetroxide, Pb₃O₄; formed by roasting litharge in air.
• Naples yellow/cassel yellow –oxychloride of lead, formed by heating litharge with sal ammoniac.

• Mercurius praecipitatus – redmercuric oxide.
• Mosaic gold –stannic sulfide, formed by heating a mixture of tin filings, sulfur, and sal-ammoniac.
• Orpiment –arsenic trisulfide, an ore of arsenic.
• Pearl white –bismuth nitrate, BiNO₃
• Philosophers' wool/nix alba (white snow)/Zinc White –zinc oxide, formed by burning zinc in air, used as a pigment
• Plumbago – a mineral,graphite; not discovered in pure form until 1564
• Powder of Algaroth –antimony oxychloride, formed by precipitation when a solution of butter of antimony and spirit of salt is poured into water.
• Purple of Cassius – formed by precipitating a mixture of gold,stannous andstannic chlorides, with alkali. Used for glass coloring
• Realgar –arsenic disulfide, an ore of arsenic.
• Regulus of antimony
• Resin of copper –copper(I) chloride (cuprous chloride), formed by heating copper with corrosive sublimate.
• Rouge/crocus/colcothar –ferric oxide, formed by burning green vitriol in air.
• Stibnite –antimony orantimony trisulfide, ore of antimony.
• Turpeth mineral – hydrolysed form ofmercury(II) sulfate.
• Verdigris –Carbonate of Copper or (more recently)copper(II) acetate. The carbonate is formed by weathering copper. The acetate is formed by vinegar acting on copper. One version was used as a green pigment.
• White arsenic –arsenious oxide, formed by sublimating arsenical soot from the roasting ovens.
• White lead –carbonate of lead, a toxic pigment, produced by corroding stacks of lead plates with dilute vinegar beneath a heap of moistened wood shavings. (replaced byblanc fixe &lithopone)
• Venetian white – formed from equal parts of white lead andbarium sulfate.
• Zaffre – impurecobalt arsenate, formed after roasting cobalt ore.
• Zinc blende –zinc sulfide.

• Glauber's salt –sodium sulfate. Na₂SO₄
• Sal alembroth – salt composed of chlorides of ammonium and mercury.
• Sal ammoniac –ammonium chloride.
• Sal petrae (Med. Latin: "stone salt")/salt of petra/saltpetre/nitrate of potash –potassium nitrate, KNO₃, typically mined from covered dungheaps.
• Salt/common salt – a mineral,sodium chloride, NaCl, formed by evaporating seawater (impure form).
• Salt of tartar –potassium carbonate; also called potash.
• Salt of hartshorn/sal volatile –ammonium carbonate formed by distilling bones and horns.
• Tin salt – hydratedstannous chloride; see alsospiritus fumans, another chloride of tin.

• Blue vitriol –copper(II) sulfate pentahydrate.
• Green vitriol – a mineral;iron(II) sulfate heptahydrate. (orferrous sulfate)
• Red vitriol -cobalt sulfate.^[1]
• Sweet vitriol –diethyl ether. It could be made by mixingoil of vitriol withspirit of wine and heating it.^[2]
• White vitriol –zinc sulfate, formed bylixiviating roasted zinc blende.

• Aqua fortis/spirit of nitre –nitric acid, formed by 2 partssaltpetre in 1 part (pure) oil of vitriol (sulfuric acid). (Historically, this process could not have been used, as 98% oil of vitriol was not available.)
• Aqua ragia/spirit of turpentine/oil of turpentine/gum turpentine –turpentine, formed by the distillation ofpine treeresin.
• Aqua regia (Latin: "royal water") – a mixture of aqua fortis and spirit of salt.
• Aqua tofani –arsenic trioxide, As₂O₃ (extremely poisonous)
• Aqua vitae/aqua vita/spirit of wine, ardent spirits –ethanol, formed by distilling wine^[2]
• Butter (or oil) of antimony –antimony trichloride. Formed by distilling roastedstibnite with corrosive sublimate, or dissolvingstibnite in hot concentrated hydrochloric acid and distilling. SbCl₃
• Butter of tin – hydratedtin(IV) chloride; see alsospiritus fumans, another chloride of tin.
• Oil of tartar – concentratedpotassium carbonate, K₂CO₃ solution
• Oil of tartar per deliquium – potassium carbonate dissolved in the water which its extracts from the air.
• Oil of vitriol/spirit of vitriol –sulfuric acid, a weak version can be formed by heating green vitriol and blue vitriol. H₂SO₄
• Spirit of box/pyroxylic spirit –methanol, CH₃OH, distilled wood alcohol.
• Spiritus fumans –stannic chloride, formed by distilling tin with corrosive sublimate.
• Spirit of hartshorn –ammonia, formed by the decomposition ofsal-ammoniac byunslaked lime.
• Spirit of salt/acidum salis – the liquid form ofhydrochloric acid (also called muriatic acid), formed by mixingcommon salt with oil of vitriol.

  • Marine acid air – gaseous form ofhydrochloric acid.

• Alkahest – universal solvent.
• Azoth – initially this referred to a supposed universal solvent but later became another name forMercury.
• Bitumen – highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum.
• Blende
• Brimstone –sulfur

• Flowers of sulfur – formed by distilling sulfur.

• Caustic potash/caustic wood alkali –potassium hydroxide, formed by adding lime to potash.
• Caustic Soda/caustic marine alkali –sodium hydroxide, NaOH, formed by adding lime to natron.
• Caustic volatile alkali –ammonium hydroxide.
• Corrosive sublimate –mercuric chloride, formed by subliming mercury, calcined green vitriol, common salt, and nitre.
• Gum Arabic – gum from theacacia tree.
• Liver of sulfur – a loosely defined mixture of potassium sulfide, potassium polysulfide, potassium thiosulfate, and likely potassium bisulfide.
• Lunar caustic/lapis infernalis –silver nitrate, formed by dissolvingsilver in aqua fortis and evaporating.
• Lye – potash in a water solution, formed by leaching wood ashes.

• Potash –potassium carbonate, formed by evaporating lye; also calledsalt of tartar. K₂CO₃
• Pearlash – formed by baking potash in a kiln.

• Milk of sulfur (lac sulphuris) – formed by adding an acid to thion hudor (lime sulfur).
• Natron/soda ash/soda –sodium carbonate. Na₂CO₃
• Nitrum flammans –ammonium nitrate.
• Sugar of lead –lead(II) acetate, formed by dissolving lead oxide in vinegar.
• Thion hudor –lime sulfur, formed by boiling flowers of sulfur with slaked lime.

• Alchemical symbol
• List of alchemists

• Eklund, Jon (1975).The Incompleat Chymist: Being an Essay on the Eighteenth-Century Chemist in His Laboratory, with a Dictionary of Obsolete Chemical Terms of the Period (Smithsonian Studies in History and Technology, Number 33). Smithsonian Institution Press.
• Giunta, Carmen.Glossary of Archaic Chemical Terms: Introduction and Part I (A-B).Classic Chemistry.
• Giunta, Carmen.A Dictionary of the New Chymical Nomenclature. Classic Chemistry. Based onGuyton de Morveau, Louis Bernard;Lavoisier, Antoine;Bertholet, Claude-Louis;Fourcroy, Antoine-François de (1788) [1787].Method of chymical nomenclature, proposed by Messrs. de Morveau, Lavoisier, Bertholet, and de Fourcroy: To which is added A new system of chymical characters adapted to the nomenclature by Mess. Hassenfratz and Adet. Translated by St. John, James. pp. 105–176.

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