silicon
This is an old revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 17 October 2026 at 05:07. It may
differ significantly from the current version. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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
Modern meaning
Noun
- 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
- ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
- ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
- ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
- ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press