silica

[sil-i-kuh]

noun

1. the dioxide form of silicon, SiO 2 , occurring especially as quartz sand, flint, and agate: used usually in the form of its prepared white powder chiefly in the manufacture of glass, water glass, ceramics, and abrasives.

silica

/ ˈsɪlɪkə /

noun

1. the dioxide of silicon, occurring naturally as quartz, cristobalite, and tridymite. It is a refractory insoluble material used in the manufacture of glass, ceramics, and abrasives

2. short for silica glass

silica

1. A chemical compound that is the main constituent of most of the Earth's rocks. Silica occurs naturally in five crystalline forms (quartz, tridymite, cristobalite, coesite, and stishovite), in a cryptocrystalline form (chalcedony), and in an amorphous form (opal). It is also the main chemical compound in sand. Silica is used to make glass, concrete, and other materials. Also called silicon dioxide. Chemical formula: SiO ₂ .

Word History and Origins

Origin of silica¹

1795–1805; < New Latin, derivative of Latin silex silex

Word History and Origins

Origin of silica¹

C19: New Latin, from Latin: _silex

Example Sentences

Pigments made of minerals including hematite and rocks like lapis lazuli are ground into nanoparticles and suspended in silica, resembling “melted glass,” as Magaloni describes.

From Los Angeles Times

Before the club reopened, she said, members wanted “the operations be finished at the golf course that was putting a lot of silica into the air.”

From Los Angeles Times

A further, lesser known risk is that of silicosis, a lung disease caused by breathing in silica dust, usually over many years.

From BBC

They’re also questions that I’ve been more inclined to contemplate after absentmindedly chewing on the package of silica gels that come in a bag of beef jerky than I was while watching “The Monkey.”

From Salon

In Los Angeles County, they have become the face of an alarming outbreak of silicosis, a deadly lung disease caused by inhaling dust loaded with crystalline silica, among young workers who cut countertops.

From Los Angeles Times