"In chemistry, what is the term for a water-soluble base? It derives its name from the Arabic word for ""ashes."""
Alkali Alkali In chemistry, an alkali (; from Arabic: "al-qaly" "ashes of the saltwort") is a basic, ionic salt of an alkali metal or alkaline earth metal chemical element. An alkali also can be defined as a base that dissolves in water. A solution of a soluble base has a pH greater than 7.0. The adjective alkaline is commonly, and alkalescent less often, used in English as a synonym for basic, especially for bases soluble in water. This broad use of the term is likely to have come about because alkalis were the first bases known to obey the Arrhenius definition
Etymology of chemistry Etymology of chemistry In the history of science, the etymology of the word chemistry is debatable. It is agreed that the word derives from the word "alchemy", which is a European one, derived from "kimiya" () and alchemy "al-kīmiyāʾ" (). The Arabic term is derived from the Ancient Greek "khēmia" or "khēmeia". However, the ultimate origin of the root word, "chem", is uncertain. According to the "Oxford English Dictionary", "al-kīmiyāʾ" is derived from , which is derived from the ancient Egyptian name of Egypt ("khem" or "khm", "khame", or "khmi", meaning "blackness" Therefore, alchemy is the "Black Art". However, it