silicon

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈsɪl.ɪ.kən/, US also /ˈsɪl.ɪ.kɑːn/^[1]

Etymology

It was coined in 1817 by the British chemist Thomas Thomson, in his System of Chemistry,^[2][3] from silica, from which it was isolated, with the ending of carbon and boron.^[2][3][4] The NODE describes it as an alteration of earlier silicium, from Latin silex, flint.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The non-metallic element: 1817.^[2][6][4]

Semantic evolution

Silicon carbide is recorded from 1893.^[6] The silicon chip is attested from 1965,^[3] and Silicon Valley, for the Santa Clara Valley near San Francisco, where makers of silicon chips are concentrated, by 1974.^[3]

Timeline

• 1817 – silicon.^[2][6]
• 1893 – silicon carbide.^[6]
• 1965 – silicon chip.^[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A non-metallic element found widely in the Earth's crust in sand, quartz and other minerals, used in transistors, solar cells and alloys.

Word family

• ferrosilicon
• organosilicon
• silicide
• silicon nitride
• silicon carbide
• silicon dioxide
• silicon tetrachloride

Related words

• silane
• silex
• silica
• silicate
• siliceous
• silicic
• siliciferous
• silicify
• silicone
• silicosis
• carbon
• boron

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press