Alembic (Ar. anbīq) refers to an apparatus or parts of an apparatus used in the Muslim world from the third/ninth century to modern times for distillation in alchemy and chemistry. In alchemical literature in Greek, the first description of an alembic (ἄμβιξ) appears to be in the work of Zosimus of Panopolis (third to fourth century C.E.). In the writings of this author, known to Muslims as Zūsimūs, Rīsimūs, etc., the meaning of the term ἄμβιξ is not always clear: it may indicate either the entire apparatus used