Etymologically
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silicone

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Pronunciation

  • /ˈsɪlɪkəʊn/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English silicon + -one,[2][1] the suffix used for ketones, since the compounds were first made in an attempt to produce the silicon counterpart of a ketone;[1][3] the OED and Merriam-Webster analyse the first part as the combining form silic-.[3][4] Silicon itself is from Latin silex (“flint”).[3] The first, now obsolete, sense follows German silicon, the name Wöhler gave in 1863 to a yellow solid,[3] and Etymonline accordingly takes the word as coined in German in 1863.[5] Hendrickson credits it to the British chemist Frederic Stanley Kipping, who did much of the research on these compounds.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

A yellow solid obtained by the action of concentrated hydrochloric acid on calcium silicide: 1863, in a report of Wöhler's work in Chemical News.[3][7]

Semantic evolution

The first sense was abandoned by the middle of the 20th century.[3][7] From 1906 the name was given to any supposed compound of silicon analogous to the ketones, and later to the polymers with chains of alternating silicon and oxygen atoms carrying organic groups, which are stable over a wide range of temperatures.[3][4][8] Merriam-Webster dates this sense to 1943,[4] and attributive uses such as silicone rubber and silicone resin appear from 1944.[3] The first silicone breast implant was developed in Houston in 1962, and by 1995 Houston had the nickname "Silicone City".[9] A verb silicone, to treat or fill with silicone, is recorded from 1980.[3][7]

Timeline

  • 1863 – a yellow solid made from calcium silicide (obsolete by 1946).[3]
  • 1906 – a supposed silicon compound analogous to a ketone; later, a silicon–oxygen polymer.[3]
  • 1943 – the silicone polymers.[4]
  • 1944 – attributive use: silicone rubber, silicone resin.[3]
  • 1980 – verb, to treat with silicone.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Any of a large class of synthetic polymers with chains of alternating silicon and oxygen atoms bound to organic groups, which resist heat, water and chemicals and are used as oils, lubricants, resins, rubbers and insulators.[8][4][10]
  2. Used attributively: made of or containing silicone: a silicone sealant around the bath.[8][3]
  3. (obsolete, 1863–1946) A yellow solid obtained from calcium silicide with hydrochloric acid.[3][7]

Verb

  1. To treat, seal or fill with silicone.[3][7]

Word family

  • Silastic
  • silicone rubber

Usage notes

It is easily confused with silicon, the chemical element, from which it is named.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ Hendrickson, Robert (2008), The Facts on File Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins, 4th ed., New York: Facts on File
  7. ^ a b c d e Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  9. ^ Popik, Barry, The Big Apple, barrypopik.com, p. "Silicone City", Houston nickname, 7 July 2008
  10. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin