Κάτι ξέρανε Γάλλοι, Ιταλοί, Σπανιόλοι, που γράψανε τη λέξη τους με -i-.
Αντιγράφω κι εγώ τα ενδιαφέροντα που γράφει το OED στο λήμμα alchemy:
[a. OFr. alquimie, -emie, -kemie, -camie (also ar-), ad. med.L. alchimia (Pr. alkimia, Sp. alquimia, It. alchimia), a. Arab. al-kīmīā, i.e. al the + kīmīā, apparently a. Gr. χηµία, χηµεία, found (c. 300) in the Decree of Diocletian against ‘the old writings of the Egyptians, which treat of the χηµία (transmutation) of gold and silver’; hence the word is explained by most as ‘Egyptian art,’ and identified with χηµία, Gr. form (in Plutarch) of the native name of Egypt (land of Khem or Khamè, hieroglyphic Khmi, ‘black earth,’ in contrast to the desert sand). If so, it was afterwards etymologically confused with the like-sounding Gr. χῡµεία, pouring, infusion, f. χυ- pf. stem of χέ-ειν to pour, cf. χῡµός juice, sap, which seemed to explain its meaning; hence the Renascence spelling alchymia and chymistry. Mahn (Etym. Unt. 69) however concludes, after an elaborate investigation, that Gr. χῡµεία was probably the original, being first applied to pharmaceutical chemistry, which was chiefly concerned with juices or infusions of plants; that the pursuits of the Alexandrian alchemists were a subsequent development of chemical study, and that the notoriety of these may have caused the name of the art to be popularly associated with the ancient name of Egypt, and spelt χηµεία, χηµία, as in Diocletian's decree. From the Alexandrians the art and name were adopted by the Arabs, whence they returned to Europe by way of Spain. Of the 14–15th c. forms, Alconomy was evidently assimilated to Astronomy, the two sciences going together.]
