silex

See also: Silex and sílex

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin silex.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsaɪlɛks/

• 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

Learned borrowing from Latin silex.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /si.lɛks/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Audio (France (Paris)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Vosges)):

  (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 the 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
• siliceō
• siliceus
• silicineus

Descendants

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

Borrowings:

• → Catalan: sílex
• → English: silex
• → French: silex
• → Italian: silice
• → Koine Greek: σῐ́ληξ (sĭ́lēx), σῐ́λῐξ (sĭ́lĭx), σῐ́λεξ (sĭ́lex)
  • Greek: σίληκας (sílikas), σίλεξ (sílex)
• → 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

Etymology tree

Latin silexlbor.

French silexbor.

Romanian silex

Borrowed from French silex, a learned borrowing 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