silica

See also: sílica

English

Etymology

Origin: 1585–95; in Latin silex (“hard stone, flint”). Subsequently, silicon was identified by the chemist Antoine Lavoisier in 1787 as a component element of the silex or silicis. Compare silicate.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈsɪl.ɪ.kə/

Noun

silica (countable and uncountable, plural silicas)

1. Silicon dioxide.
2. Any of the silica group of the silicate minerals.
   • 1993, Historic American Building Survey, Town of Clayburg: Refractories Company Town, National Park Service, 2:

     Its Blair County property was sited at the foot of ganister-covered Dunnings Mountain to compete with the Mount Union plants making silica bricks for the steel industry.

Synonyms

• E551 when used as an anti-caking agent

Derived terms

• silica gel
• silica glass
• silicate
• silica wool
• siliceous
• silici-
• silicic
• silicide

 

Related terms

• silex
• silicon

Translations

silicon dioxide

• Catalan: sílice (ca) f
• Esperanto: siliko (eo)
• Finnish: piidioksidi (fi), silika

• French: silice (fr) f
• Japanese: シリカ (ja) (shirika)
• Spanish: sílice (es) f
• Swedish: kiseldioxid (sv)

silica group of the silicate minerals

• Esperanto: siliko (eo)
• Finnish: hohkasilikaatti

• Italian: silice (it)
• Spanish: sílice (es) f

See also

• quartz
• sand

Anagrams

• Cialis, Liasic, salici, sialic