Brevi cenni storici sull'alcol.
Like some other treasures, alcohol has an Arab origin. Al-Kuhl was a very fine, carefully purified powder that was used to medicate the eyes, as eye drops or for cosmetic reasons. By translated the word then passed to mean a very pure substance, or the essence of something that tended to sublimate to become spirit. It is precisely with this meaning that al-kuhl has passed into European languages, and as with many other words assimilated through cultural and scientific exchanges over the centuries (algebra, alchemy, etc.), the article is merged with the noun.
I found a page that gives an exhaustive summary of the story and the site itself also seems very interesting to me. Try to take a look at:
La singolare storia dell'alcol
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