Silicifications

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The process of converting organic material into silicates through mineral replacement
2. A geological phenomenon where soft tissues are replaced by silica over time
3. The transformation of biological matter into a hard form of silica, often seen in fossils

Etymology: The word is an inflected form: the plural of "silicification", the process by which organic material is replaced by silica, the mineral that makes up quartz and flint. The plural is used when discussing several such cases, as in the study of petrified wood and other fossils. "Silicification" is a plain modern formation. It combines "silica", from the Latin "silex" meaning flint or hard stone, with the suffix "-ification", which turns a base into a noun for the act or process of making something into that base. The suffix came into English through Old French from Latin "-ficatio", and the English form appears as "-ification" from the Middle English "-ificacioun". Put together, "silicification" describes the making of silica, and it reached its scientific sense in the same way as other coinages built from that suffix.