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silicon

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silicon¹

  • /ˈsɪlɪkən/ Australia, Canada, UK
  • /ˈsɪləkɒn/ Canada, UK
  • /ˈsɪləˌkɑn/ US

Where it comes from

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 silicons

  1. uncountable, usually A nonmetallic element (symbol Si) with an atomic number of 14 and atomic weight of 28.0855. 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 fa

    Similar: silicium, silicum

  2. countable, usually A single atom of this element.

    Similar: silicium, silicum

silicon²

  • /ˈsɪlɪkən/ Australia, Canada, UK
  • /ˈsɪləkɒn/ Canada, UK
  • /ˈsɪləˌkɑn/ US

Where it comes from

From the silicon chips used in computers.

noun

  1. slang, uncountable Computing.
  2. slang, uncountable A computer processor.
  3. abbreviation, uncountable Abbreviation of silicon chip

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: si, silica, silicone, multicrystalline, valley, sealant, breast, chip, taiwan, silicium, metalloid, semiconductor, polysilicon, silicum, silicon iron, metasilicate

Translations

Every language

noun non-metallic element

Españolsilicio
한국어규소 gyuso
日本語ケイ素 keiso, 珪素 keiso, シリコン shirikon
中文硅 guī
हिन्दीसैकता saiktā
Kiswahilisilikoni
Portuguêssilício
Françaissilicium
DeutschSilizium, Silicium
Italianosilicio
Ελληνικάπυρίτιο pyrítio
Românăsiliciu
Русскийкре́мний krémnij, сили́ций silícij
Tiếng Việtsilic
العربيةسِيلِيكُون m or سِلِكُون sīlīkūn
עבריתצורן tsoran

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Cite this
MLA

"silicon." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/silicon. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

silicon. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/silicon

Chicago

"silicon." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/silicon.

BibTeX
@misc{silicon_2026,
  title = {silicon},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/silicon},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}