A variant or shortened form relating to alchemy or alchemical practice, possibly archaic or specialized usage.
Likely a shortened form of 'alchemy' or 'alchemist,' created for convenience or specific technical contexts. Such shortenings appear in medieval texts and specialized vocabularies.
When scientists still thought turning lead into gold was possible, they needed a vocabulary—'alchem' might be one of those shorthand terms used in ancient lab notes that didn't quite survive into modern English.
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