Desiliconised

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Having had silicon removed or reduced from a substance, typically to improve its purity or performance in industrial processes
2. Describing a material or element from which silicon impurities have been eliminated or significantly lowered
3. Referring to the process or condition of extracting silicon content from a compound or alloy to alter its chemical or physical properties

Etymology: "Desiliconised" is formed from "silicon" with the reversing prefix "de-", meaning "having had silicon removed." The base word "silicon" was coined in English in 1831 by the Scottish chemist Thomas Thomson, who named the element on the model of "boron" and "carbon," and "silica," which had been known since the eighteenth century, served as its source. "Silica" itself comes from the Latin "silex," meaning flint or hard stone, so the element's name ultimately points back to flint. The "de-" prefix is productive in chemistry and metallurgy, where it describes removing a substance from a material, as in "decarburised" for steel from which carbon has been taken out. "Desiliconised" follows the same pattern, usually describing iron or steel from which silicon has been removed during refining. The "-ised" ending is the British spelling of "-ized," the form used in British English.

Synonyms: de-siliconized, silicon-removed, desilicified, purified, cleaned

Antonyms: siliconised, siliconated, silicon-coated, silicified, silicon-added