Siliconized

Part of speech: verb, adjective

Definitions

1. Treated with a silicone substance to provide water resistance or lubrication; coated or impregnated with silicone to improve durability or performance; made to have a smooth, non-stick surface by application of silicone compounds
2. Covered or infused with a silicone-based material to repel moisture or reduce friction; enhanced by a layer of silicon compound for protection or ease of use; modified to possess a slick, protective coating through silicone treatment
3. Processed by applying silicone to impart water-repellent properties and reduce stickiness; coated with silicone for improved stability and usability; altered by embedding silicone to achieve a smooth, lubricated finish

Etymology: Silicon was named in 1817 by the Scottish chemist Thomas Thomson, who coined it from the Latin "silex" (flint) and the "-on" ending he borrowed from "boron" and "carbon," believing the element to be a nonmetal like those two. Silicones came later: in 1901 the English chemist Frederic Stanley Kipping began studying compounds built from silicon and organic groups, and he coined the word "silicone" in the 1900s by analogy with "ketone," though he thought these molecules were analogous to ketones and the name was a mistake, since silicones do not share the ketone structure. The name stuck anyway. "Siliconized" is simply the past participle or adjective built from that later term. "Silicone" plus the verb-forming suffix "-ize" (from Greek "-izein") gives "siliconize," meaning to treat a surface or material with silicone, and "-ed" turns it into the adjective or past form. The verb appeared in English in the mid-twentieth century, when silicone products were being widely used as lubricants, water repellents and polishes.

Synonyms: siliconised, coated, treated

Antonyms: desiliconized, cleaned