mica English · revision 782

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈmaɪ.kə/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la-new|mica]],^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) a special use of Latin ''mīca'' “grain, crumb, morsel”,^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(Hoad 1986) perhaps influenced by ''micāre'' “to flash, glitter”.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) The Latin word is sometimes connected with Greek ''mikrós'' “small” (see [[micro-]]),^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) but de Vaan finds a derivation from the root of ''micāre'', “a glittering crystalline particle”, formally more attractive.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A small plate of talc, selenite or other glistening crystalline substance found in rock (1706).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The use in mineralogy was probably at first contextual, “a particle” of some substance.^(Hoad 1986) The modern sense, any of a group of silicate minerals that split into thin, tough, often transparent sheets, dates from 1778 in the OED (1777 in Merriam-Webster).^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate) Older native names for it were ''glimmer'' and ''cat-silver''.^(Etymonline) ''Micaceous'', “containing mica”, dates from 1748.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1706 – a glistening plate in rock.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1748 – ''micaceous''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1777 – the mineral group (Merriam-Webster).^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1778 – the mineral group (OED).^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # Any of a group of chemically related [[aluminium]] [[silicate]] minerals, common in [[igneous]] and [[metamorphic]] rocks, that split into thin, flexible, often transparent sheets, used in electrical insulation; [[isinglass]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[micaceous]]

+ * [[micalike]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[micro-]]

+ * [[isinglass]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}