'alembicate' originates from the Latin word 'alembicus', which referred to a type of distillation apparatus, derived from the Arabic 'al-anbīq', meaning 'the still'.

'alembicus' transformed into the Old French word 'alembic', and eventually became the modern English word 'alembicate'.

Initially, it meant 'to distill using an alembic', but over time it evolved into its current metaphorical meaning of 'to refine or make more subtle'.