silex

See also: Silex and sílex

English

Etymology

From Latin silex.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsaɪˌlɛks/

• Audio (UK):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɪlɛks
• Hyphenation: si‧lex

Noun

silex (countable and uncountable, plural silexes or silices)

1. (archaic) Flint.
2. A finely ground relatively pure form of silicas used as a paint filler etc.
   • 1864, Fitz-Hugh Ludlow, The Atlantic:

     Every little cold gust that I observed in the Colorado country had this corkscrew character […] an auger, of diameter varying from an inch to a thousand feet, capable of altering its direction so as to bore curved holes, revolving with incalculable rapidity, and armed with a cutting edge of silex.

Derived terms

• petrosilex

Anagrams

• lexis, sixel

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin silex.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /si.lɛks/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Audio (France (Paris)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Vosges)):

  (file)

Noun

silex m (invariable)

1. flint

Further reading

• “silex”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

Anagrams

• exils

Latin

Etymology

Uncertain. Sometimes compared to silīgō and siliqua, both of unclear origin as well. De Vaan suggests that these are derivatives of silex, which have undergone a semantic shift “pebble” > “small pod”.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈsɪ.ɫɛks]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈsiː.leks]

Noun

silex m or f (genitive silicis); third declension

1. pebble, stone, flint

   Synonyms: lapis, saxum, petra

2. rock, crag
3. lava

Declension

Third-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	silex	silicēs
genitive	silicis	silicum
dative	silicī	silicibus
accusative	silicem	silicēs
ablative	silice	silicibus
vocative	silex	silicēs

Derived terms

• silicārius
• siliceus

Descendants

• Italo-Dalmatian:
  • Italian: selce, sercio (Romanesco)
  • Venetan: sélese, sédese (Treviso)

Borrowings:

• → Catalan: sílex
• → English: silex
• → French: silex
• → Italian: silice
• → Portuguese: sílex, sílice
• → Romanian: silex
• → Sicilian: sìlici
• → Spanish: sílex, sílice

References

• “silex”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “silex”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “silex”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Carl Meißner; Henry William Auden (1894), Latin Phrase-Book‎^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • to pave a road: viam sternere (silice, saxo)
    
• De Vaan, Michiel (2008), “silex, -icis”, in Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 564

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French silex, from Latin silex.

Noun

silex n (plural silexuri)

1. flint

Declension

	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	silex	silexul	silexuri	silexurile
genitive-dative	silex	silexului	silexuri	silexurilor
vocative	silexule		silexurilor