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  1. Mar 2018
    1. alembics
      1. Chem. An early apparatus used for distilling, consisting of two connected vessels, a typically gourd-shaped cucurbit (cucurbit n.1 1) containing the substance to be distilled, and a receiver or flask in which the condensed product is collected. Occasionally also: spec. the lid or head (head n.1 19f) of the cucurbit together with its tube or beak which connects the two vessels. Now hist. (from Oxford English Dictionary)