Alchemy studies produced a number of substances, which were later classified as particular chemical compounds or mixture of compounds.

Many of these terms were in common use into the 20th century.

Metals and metalloids

  • Antimony/ – Sb
  • Bismuth () – Bi
  • Copper/ – associated with Venus. Cu
  • Gold/ – associated with the Sun. Au
  • Iron/ – associated with Mars. Fe
  • Lead/ – associated with Saturn. Pb
  • Quicksilver/ – associated with Mercury. Hg
  • Silver/ – associated with the Moon. Ag
  • Tin/ – associated with Jupiter. Sn

Minerals, Stones, and Pigments

  • Bluestone – Mineral form of Copper(II) Sulfate Pentahydrate, also called Blue Vitriol.
  • Borax – Sodium Borate; was also used to refer to other related minerals.
  • Cadmia/Tuttia/Tutty – Probably Zinc Carbonate.
  • Calamine – Zinc Carbonate.
  • Calomel/Horn Quicksilver/Horn Mercury – Mercury(I) Chloride, a very poisonous purgative formed by subliming a mixture of Mercuric Chloride and Metallic Mercury, triturated in a mortar and heated in an Iron pot. The crust formed on the lid was ground to powder and boiled with water to remove the Calomel.
  • Calx – Calcium Oxide; was also used to refer to other metal oxides.
  • Chalcanthum – The residue produced by strongly roasting Blue Vitriol (Copper Sulfate); it is composed mostly of Cupric Oxide.
  • Chalk – A rock composed of porous biogenic Calcium Carbonate, CaCO<sub>3</sub>
  • Chrome green – Chromic Oxide and Cobalt Oxide.
  • Chrome Orange – Chrome Yellow and Chrome Red.
  • Chrome Red – Basic Lead Chromate – PbCrO<sub>4</sub>+PbO
  • Chrome Yellow/Paris Yellow/Leipzig Yellow– Lead Chromate, PbCrO<sub>4</sub>
  • Cinnabar/vermilion – Refers to several substances, among them: Mercury(II) Sulfide (HgS), or native Vermilion (the common ore of Mercury).
  • Copper Glance – Copper(I) Sulfide ore.
  • Cuprite – Copper(I) Oxide ore.
  • Dutch White – A pigment formed from one part of White Lead to three of Barium Sulfate. BaSO<sub>4</sub>
  • Flowers of Antimony – Antimony Trioxide, formed by roasting Stibnite at high temperature and condensing the white fumes that form Sb<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>.
  • Fool's Gold – A mineral, Iron Disulfide or Pyrite; can form Oil of Vitriol on contact with water and air.
  • Fulminating Silver – Principally, Silver Nitride, formed by dissolving Silver(I) Oxide in ammonia. Very explosive when dry.
  • Fulminating Gold – A number of gold based explosives which "fulminate", or detonate easily.
  • Gold Hydrazide, formed by adding ammonia to the Auric Hydroxide. When dry, can explode on concussion.
  • An unstable Gold Carbonate formed by precipitation by potash from Gold dissolved in Aqua Regia.
  • Galena – Lead(II) Sulfide, Lead ore.
  • Glass of Antimony – Impure Antimony Tetroxide, Sb<sub>2</sub>O<sub>4</sub> formed by roasting stibnite. A yellow pigment for glass and porcelain.
  • Gypsum – a mineral; calcium sulfate. CaSO<sub>4</sub>
  • Horn silver/argentum cornu – a weathered form of chlorargyrite, an ore of silver chloride.

:* Luna cornea – silver chloride, formed by heating horn silver till it liquefies and then cooling.

  • King's yellow – formed by mixing orpiment with white arsenic.
  • Lapis solaris (Bologna stone) – barium sulfide – 1603, Vincenzo Cascariolo.
  • Lead fume – lead oxide, found in flues at lead smelters.
  • Lime/quicklime (burnt lime)/calx viva/unslaked lime – calcium oxide, formed by calcining limestone

:* Slaked lime – calcium hydroxide. Ca(OH)<sub>2</sub>

  • Marcasite – a mineral; iron disulfide. In moist air it turns into green vitriol, FeSO<sub>4</sub>.
  • Massicot – lead monoxide. PbO

:* Litharge – lead monoxide, formed by fusing and powdering massicot.

:* Minium/red lead – trilead tetroxide, Pb<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub>; formed by roasting litharge in air.

:* Naples yellow/cassel yellow – oxychloride of lead, formed by heating litharge with sal ammoniac.

  • Mercurius praecipitatus – red mercuric oxide.
  • Mosaic gold – stannic sulfide, formed by heating a mixture of tin filings, sulfur, and sal-ammoniac.
  • Orpiment – arsenic trisulfide, an ore of arsenic.
  • Pearl white – bismuth nitrate, BiNO<sub>3</sub>
  • Philosophers' wool/nix alba (white snow)/Zinc White – zinc oxide, formed by burning zinc in air, used as a pigment
  • Plumbago – a mineral, graphite; not discovered in pure form until 1564
  • Powder of Algaroth – antimony oxychloride, formed by precipitation when a solution of butter of antimony and spirit of salt is poured into water.
  • Purple of Cassius – formed by precipitating a mixture of gold, stannous and stannic chlorides, with alkali. Used for glass coloring
  • Realgar – arsenic disulfide, an ore of arsenic.
  • Regulus of antimony
  • Resin of copper – copper(I) chloride (cuprous chloride), formed by heating copper with corrosive sublimate.
  • Rouge/crocus/colcothar – ferric oxide, formed by burning green vitriol in air.
  • Stibnite – antimony or antimony trisulfide, ore of antimony.
  • Turpeth mineral – hydrolysed form of mercury(II) sulfate.
  • Verdigris – Carbonate of Copper or (more recently) copper(II) acetate. The carbonate is formed by weathering copper. The acetate is formed by vinegar acting on copper. One version was used as a green pigment.
  • White arsenic – arsenious oxide, formed by sublimating arsenical soot from the roasting ovens.
  • White lead – carbonate of lead, a toxic pigment, produced by corroding stacks of lead plates with dilute vinegar beneath a heap of moistened wood shavings. (replaced by blanc fixe & lithopone)
  • Venetian white – formed from equal parts of white lead and barium sulfate.
  • Zaffre – impure cobalt arsenate, formed after roasting cobalt ore.
  • Zinc blende – zinc sulfide.

Salts

  • Glauber's salt – sodium sulfate. Na<sub>2</sub>SO<sub>4</sub>
  • Sal alembroth – salt composed of chlorides of ammonium and mercury.
  • Sal ammoniac – ammonium chloride.
  • Sal petrae (Med. Latin: "stone salt")/salt of petra/saltpetre/nitrate of potash – potassium nitrate, KNO<sub>3</sub>, typically mined from covered dungheaps.
  • Salt/common salt – a mineral, sodium chloride, NaCl, formed by evaporating seawater (impure form).
  • Salt of tartar – potassium carbonate; also called potash.
  • Salt of hartshorn/sal volatile – ammonium carbonate formed by distilling bones and horns.
  • Tin salt – hydrated stannous chloride; see also , another chloride of tin.

Vitriols

  • Blue vitriol – copper(II) sulfate pentahydrate.
  • Green vitriol – a mineral; iron(II) sulfate heptahydrate. (or ferrous sulfate)
  • Red vitriol - cobalt sulfate.
  • Sweet vitriol – diethyl ether. It could be made by mixing oil of vitriol with spirit of wine and heating it.
  • White vitriol – zinc sulfate, formed by lixiviating roasted zinc blende.

Waters, oils and spirits

  • /spirit of nitre – nitric acid, formed by 2 parts saltpetre in 1 part (pure) oil of vitriol (sulfuric acid). (Historically, this process could not have been used, as 98% oil of vitriol was not available.)
  • /spirit of turpentine/oil of turpentine/gum turpentine – turpentine, formed by the distillation of pine tree resin.
  • (Latin: "royal water") – a mixture of aqua fortis and spirit of salt.
  • – arsenic trioxide, As<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> (extremely poisonous)
  • /aqua vita/spirit of wine, ardent spirits – ethanol, formed by distilling wine