Plural of chymist; archaic spelling of chemists, practitioners of chymistry or early chemistry.
From Middle English 'chymie', derived from Medieval Latin 'alchymia' and Arabic 'al-kimiya'. The 'ch' spelling reflects Middle English pronunciation and the mystical origins in alchemy.
Chymists were the rebels of the 1600s-1700s who separated from alchemy to study actual chemical reactions—the spelling change from 'chymist' to 'chemist' marks the birth of real science from mysticism.
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