Azoth was considered to be a universal medicine or universal solvent sought in alchemy (similar to another alchemical idealized substance, alkahest, that like azoth was the aim, goal and vision of many alchemical works). Its symbol was the Caduceus and so the term, while originally a term for an occult formula sought by alchemists much like the philosopher's stone, became a poetic word for the element mercury. The name is Medieval Latin, an alteration of azoc being originally derived from the Arabic al-zā'būq "the mercury".