Main Entry:

sil·i·con

Pronunciation:

\ˈsi-li-kən, ˈsi-lə-ˌkän\

Function:

noun

Etymology:

New Latin silica + English -on (as in carbon)

Date:

1817

: a tetravalent nonmetallic element that occurs combined as the most abundant element next to oxygen in the earth's crust and is used especially in ferrosilicon for steelmaking, in other alloys, and in semiconductors — see element table