silic(o)- Also silici- and sil-.
Silicon.
[Latin silex, silic-, flint.]
Flint is composed of silica, silicon dioxide; rocks rich in silica are said to be silicic, while those termed siliciclastic are broken pieces of older rocks consisting largely of silica. Silicosis is a lung disease caused by the inhalation of dust containing silica. A silicone is one of a class of synthetic materials which are polymers with a chemical structure based on chains of alternate silicon and oxygen atoms, for which a general name is siloxane; a silicate is a salt that contains both silicon and oxygen, especially the anion SiO42-. A silane is a member of the group of silicon halides; silex is a heat-resistant glass or brick formed of fused quartz.
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