silicon

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See also: Silicon and silicón

English

Chemical element
Si
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Next: phosphorus (P)
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Wikipedia
A piece of purified silicon.

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Coined by Scottish chemist Thomas Thomson as a modification of the earlier name silicium, from the stem of Latin silex (“flint, silica”) + -on from carbon.

Noun

silicon (usually uncountable, plural silicons)

  2. (chemistry, uncountable) A nonmetallic element (symbol Si) with an atomic number of 14 and atomic weight of 28.0855.
    Synonyms: (obsolete) silicium, (obsolete) silicum
    • 1970, James W Mayer, Lennart Eriksson, John A Davies, “General Features of Ion Implantation”, in Ion Implantation in Semiconductors: Silicon and Germanium, New York, N.Y.: Academic Press, →OCLC, page 5:
      The isolated disordered regions and the amorphous layer have widely different anneal behavior. In the case of germanium and silicon, the isolated disordered regions anneal at moderate temperatures of approximately 200° and 300° C, respectively. The amorphous layers also anneal in a characteristic fashion, but at appreciably higher temperatures, i.e., at approximately 600° C in silicon and 400° C in germanium.
  3. (chemistry, countable) A single atom of this element.
Usage notes

Do not confuse silicon with silicone.

Derived terms
Translations

See also

Etymology 2

From the silicon chips used in computers.

Noun

silicon (uncountable)

  1. (slang) Computing.
  2. (slang) A computer processor.
  3. Abbreviation of silicon chip.
Derived terms

Further reading

  • David Barthelmy (1997–2025) “Silicon”, in Webmineral Mineralogy Database.
  • “silicon”, in Mindat.org‎, Hudson Institute of Mineralogy, 2000–2025.

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French silicone.

Noun

silicon m (plural siliconi)

  1. (chemistry) silicone

Declension

singular plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative-accusative silicon siliconul siliconi siliconii
genitive-dative silicon siliconului siliconi siliconilor
vocative siliconule siliconilor

Noun

silicon n (plural silicoane)

  1. (informal, chiefly in the plural) breast implant

Declension

singular plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative-accusative silicon siliconul silicoane silicoanele
genitive-dative silicon siliconului silicoane silicoanelor
vocative siliconule silicoanelor

Welsh

Chemical element
Si
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Next: ffosfforws (P)
Welsh Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia cy

Etymology

Borrowed from English silicon, a modification of silicium, from Latin silex (“flint, silica”).

Pronunciation

Noun

silicon m (uncountable, not mutable)

  1. silicon
    Synonym: callestrai

Further reading

  • R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “silicon”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies
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