non-siliceous
|non/si/li/ceous|
🇺🇸
/nɑn-səˈlɪʃəs/
🇬🇧
/nɒn-sɪˈlɪsiəs/
not containing silica
Etymology
'non-siliceous' is formed from the negative prefix 'non-' (from Latin 'non', meaning 'not') + 'siliceous'. 'Siliceous' ultimately comes from New Latin 'siliceus', from Latin 'silica' (from 'silex'/'silicis') referring to flint or silica.
'siliceous' developed in scientific/technical English from New Latin 'siliceus' (based on 'silica'), and the compound 'non-siliceous' is a modern English formation using the productive negative prefix 'non-' attached to the adjective.
Originally related to 'silex' (flint) and materials like flint, 'siliceous' came to mean 'containing silica'; 'non-siliceous' therefore means 'not containing silica' in contemporary technical usage.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Adjective 1
not siliceous; not containing or consisting of silica (silicon dioxide) or siliceous (silica-rich) materials.
The rock was non-siliceous, composed mainly of calcite rather than silica.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Last updated: 2026/01/14 05:32