See Also: transmutation(medicine)
transmutation(dictionary)

transmutation (iou)



transmutation noun. LME.
[Old & mod. French, or directly from late Latin transmutatio(n-), from Latin transmutat- pa. ppl stem of transmutare TRANSMUTE: see -ATION.]
Change of condition; alternation between conditions. Long arch. rare. LME.
Change of one thing into another; conversion into something different; alteration, transformation. Also, an instance of this. LME.
Orig. in Alchemy, the (supposed) conversion of one element or substance into another, esp. of a baser metal into gold or silver. Now also in Physics, the (actual) change of one element or isotope into another, esp. by irradiation or bombardment (as opp. to spontaneous decay). LME.
Law. Transfer, esp. of ownership. L15.
a. Rhetoric. Transferred use of a word; metonymy. rare. Only in M16.
b. = TRANSMIGRATION 4. rare. Only in L16.
c. Heraldry. Counterchanging. rare. E17-E18.
Biology. Conversion or transformation of one species into another. (Now chiefly Hist.) E17.
Math. Transformation. Formerly also, permutation. Now rare or obsolete. L17.
transmutational adjective of or pertaining to transmutation (esp. that of biological species) M19.
transmutationist noun (now chiefly Hist.) an advocate or adherent of a theory of transmutation, esp. that of biological species M19.