azoth
\ AZ-oth \, noun;
1.the universal remedy of Paracelsus.
2.mercury, regarded by alchemists as the assumed first principle of all metals.
Quotes:
As he had suspected, it was an azoth . He whistled on a small footlight he had noticed earlier, holding the azoth low enough to keep the driver from seeing it, should he look over his shoulder.
-- Gene Wolfe, Litany of the Long Sun , 2000
I will create the red rose, the Azoth , the elixir of life—the Philosopher’s Stone.
-- Beatrice Colin, Disappearing Act , 2002
Origin:
Azoth is derived from the Arabic word az zā'ūq which meant quicksilver or mercury.
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