silex

See also: sílex

Contents

English

Etymology

From Latin silex.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈsaɪlɛks/

Noun

silex (countable and uncountable, plural silexes)

1. (archaic) Flint.
2. A finely ground relatively pure form of silicas used as a paint filler etc.
   • 1864, Fitz-Hugh Ludlow in The Atlantic

     Every little cold gust that I observed in the Colorado country had this corkscrew character […] an auger, of diameter varying from an inch to a thousand feet, capable of altering its direction so as to bore curved holes, revolving with incalculable rapidity, and armed with a cutting edge of silex.

Anagrams

• lexis

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French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin silex.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /si.lɛks/

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

silex m (plural silex)

1. flint

Further reading

• “silex” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Anagrams

• exils

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Latin

Etymology

Uncertain. Sometimes compared to silīgō and siliqua, both of unclear origin as well. De Vaan suggests that these are derivatives of silex, which have undergone a semantic shift “pebble” > “small pod”.

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈsi.leks/, [ˈsɪ.ɫɛks]

Noun

silex m or f (genitive silicis); third declension

1. pebble, stone, flint
2. rock, crag
3. lava

Declension

Third-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	silex	silicēs
Genitive	silicis	silicum
Dative	silicī	silicibus
Accusative	silicem	silicēs
Ablative	silice	silicibus
Vocative	silex	silicēs

Derived terms

• silicārius
• siliceus

 

Descendants

• Catalan: sílex
• English: silex
• French: silex
• Italian: selce
• Portuguese: sílex, sílice
• Romanian: silex
• Spanish: sílex, sílice

References

• silex in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• silex in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• silex in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Hachette
• Carl Meissner; Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • to pave a road: viam sternere (silice, saxo)
    
• De Vaan, Michiel (2008), “silex, -icis”, in Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, page 564