Dictionary

philosopher's stone en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

A misconstruction of philosophers' stone, from Middle English philosophres ston, a calque of Latin lapis philosophōrum.

Meanings

1. A supposed substance able to turn base metals, such as lead or mercury, into gold or silver, also sometimes claimed to cure any illness (as panacea) or confer immortality (as elixir of life), among other functions.
   • […] I entered with the greatest diligence into the search of the philosopher's stone and the elixir of life. 1816 June – 1817 April/May (date written), [Mary Shelley], chapter I, in Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. […], volume I, London: […] [Macdonald and Son] for Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor, & Jones, published 1 January 1818, →OCLC, page 54:
   • Men talke much […] of the Philoſophers ſtone, that it turneth copper into gold; […] 1611, [Miles Smith], “The Translators to the Reader”, in The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC:
   • 1997, Christopher McIntosh, The Rosicrucians: The History, Mythology, and Rituals of an Esoteric Order, Weiser Books, 3rd Revised Edition, 1998, Paperback, page 51, The Rosicrucianism of the Andreae era was only partly concerned with alchemy, but later revivals of the Rosicrucian idea were to lay great stress on their claims to possess the secrets of transmutation and the knowledge of the Philosopher's Stone or the Elixir of Life.
   • The Cleopatra of this early alchemical dialogue is not the famous Cleopatra VII (69-30 BC), last queen of the Ptolemy dynasty and lover of Mark Antony. Along with Mary Prophetess and Zosimos's Theosebia, this Cleopatra occupies a high place in alchemical lore as one of very few ancient female adepts who possessed the secret of the philosopher's stone. 2003, Stanton J. Linden, The Alchemy Reader: From Hermes Trismegistus to Isaac Newton, Cambridge University Press, page 44:
2. A piece of such a substance.

Forms

Relateds

touchstone · chrysopoeia · azoth · quintessence · panacea · fountain of youth · Adamic earth · elixir of life

Synonyms

philosopher's egg · sorcerer's stone

Translations (76)

cs kámen mudrců (supposed substance able to turn base metals into gold or silver) · hi पारस पत्थर (supposed substance able to turn base metals into gold or silver) · ga órchloch (supposed substance able to turn base metals into gold or silver) · sh камен мудраца (supposed substance able to turn base metals into gold or silver) · ro piatră filozofală (supposed substance able to turn base metals into gold or silver) · fi viisasten kivi (supposed substance able to turn base metals into gold or silver) · hi स्पर्शोपल (supposed substance able to turn base metals into gold or silver) · nds Wunnersteen (supposed substance able to turn base metals into gold or silver) · hi स्पर्शमणि (supposed substance able to turn base metals into gold or silver) · hi परश (supposed substance able to turn base metals into gold or silver) · fa سنگ فلاسفه (supposed substance able to turn base metals into gold or silver) · de Stein der Weisen (supposed substance able to turn base metals into gold or silver) · sl kamen modrosti (supposed substance able to turn base metals into gold or silver) · it crisopea (supposed substance able to turn base metals into gold or silver) · ug پەلسەپە تېشى (supposed substance able to turn base metals into gold or silver) · no de vises stein (supposed substance able to turn base metals into gold or silver) · cmn 哲人石 (supposed substance able to turn base metals into gold or silver) · eo ŝtono de la saĝuloj (supposed substance able to turn base metals into gold or silver) · hi पाहन (supposed substance able to turn base metals into gold or silver) · et tarkade kivi (supposed substance able to turn base metals into gold or silver) · pl kamień filozoficzny (supposed substance able to turn base metals into gold or silver) · hi पारस (supposed substance able to turn base metals into gold or silver) · pl tynktura (supposed substance able to turn base metals into gold or silver) · fa سنگ جادو (supposed substance able to turn base metals into gold or silver) · id batu bertuah (supposed substance able to turn base metals into gold or silver) · tl bato ng pilosopo (supposed substance able to turn base metals into gold or silver) · rsk камень мудросци (supposed substance able to turn base metals into gold or silver) · gl pedra filosofal (supposed substance able to turn base metals into gold or silver) · tr felsefe taşı (supposed substance able to turn base metals into gold or silver) · cmn 魔法石 (supposed substance able to turn base metals into gold or silver) · hy փիլիսոփայական քար (supposed substance able to turn base metals into gold or silver) · cmn 點金石 /点金石 (supposed substance able to turn base metals into gold or silver) · hi परस (supposed substance able to turn base metals into gold or silver) · sa परश (supposed substance able to turn base metals into gold or silver) · vi đá tạo vàng (supposed substance able to turn base metals into gold or silver) · fo vitramannasteinurin (supposed substance able to turn base metals into gold or silver) · el φιλοσοφική λίθος (supposed substance able to turn base metals into gold or silver) · uk філосо́фський ка́мінь (supposed substance able to turn base metals into gold or silver) · ca pedra filosofal (supposed substance able to turn base metals into gold or silver) · lv filozofu akmens (supposed substance able to turn base metals into gold or silver) · sh камен мудрости (supposed substance able to turn base metals into gold or silver) · th ศิลานักปราชญ์ (supposed substance able to turn base metals into gold or silver) · it pietra filosofale (supposed substance able to turn base metals into gold or silver) · sq guri filozofal (supposed substance able to turn base metals into gold or silver) · ar حَجَر اَلْفَلَاسِفَة (supposed substance able to turn base metals into gold or silver) · sa स्पर्शमणि (supposed substance able to turn base metals into gold or silver) · pt pedra filosofal (supposed substance able to turn base metals into gold or silver) · ko 마법사의 돌 (supposed substance able to turn base metals into gold or silver) · cmn 賢者之石 /贤者之石 (supposed substance able to turn base metals into gold or silver) · sh kamen mudraca (supposed substance able to turn base metals into gold or silver) · ka ფილოსოფიური ქვა (supposed substance able to turn base metals into gold or silver) · da vises sten (supposed substance able to turn base metals into gold or silver) · be філасо́фскі ка́мень (supposed substance able to turn base metals into gold or silver) · es piedra filosofal (supposed substance able to turn base metals into gold or silver) · fr pierre philosophale (supposed substance able to turn base metals into gold or silver) · sk kameň mudrcov (supposed substance able to turn base metals into gold or silver) · hi रसेंद्र (supposed substance able to turn base metals into gold or silver) · ja 賢者の石 (supposed substance able to turn base metals into gold or silver) · lt išminties akmuo (supposed substance able to turn base metals into gold or silver) · br maen ar furien (supposed substance able to turn base metals into gold or silver) · he אֶבֶן הַחֲכָמִים (supposed substance able to turn base metals into gold or silver) · sa स्पर्शोपल (supposed substance able to turn base metals into gold or silver) · nl steen der wijzen (supposed substance able to turn base metals into gold or silver) · vi hòn đá phù thủy (supposed substance able to turn base metals into gold or silver) · sh kamen mudrosti (supposed substance able to turn base metals into gold or silver) · hu bölcsek köve (supposed substance able to turn base metals into gold or silver) · sv de vises sten (supposed substance able to turn base metals into gold or silver) · gu પારસમણિ (supposed substance able to turn base metals into gold or silver) · ru филосо́фский ка́мень (supposed substance able to turn base metals into gold or silver) · la lapis philosophorum (supposed substance able to turn base metals into gold or silver) · ms batu hikmat (supposed substance able to turn base metals into gold or silver) · km សិលាទេព (supposed substance able to turn base metals into gold or silver) · bg филосо́фският ка́мък (supposed substance able to turn base metals into gold or silver) · is viskusteinn (supposed substance able to turn base metals into gold or silver) · hi परसपखान (supposed substance able to turn base metals into gold or silver) · th ศิลาอาถรรพ์ (supposed substance able to turn base metals into gold or silver)

wikidata: Q182053