Science & TechnologyGreek → English
Metalloid
/ˈmɛtəlɔɪd/noun
An element such as silicon, boron or arsenic whose behaviour falls between metals and nonmetals.
The Greek roots
μέταλλον
métallon
mine, quarry
εἶδος
eîdos
form, appearance
Literally: “metal-shaped”
The story of the word
Métallon in Greek was the mine itself, not the stuff dug out of it; the shift to the substance happened in Latin. Berzelius used metalloid in the early nineteenth century for what we would now call nonmetals, so old chemistry books can mean the opposite of new ones. No official list exists even now, and periodic tables still disagree over whether polonium and astatine belong on the staircase.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → Latin → scientific coinage → English
- First recorded
- 19th century
Same family
metalmetallurgymetallography
In a sentence
Silicon is the metalloid the whole electronics industry sits on.