Dictionary
Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.
polysilicon en · ADJ
Etymology
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *pleh₁-der.
Proto-Indo-European *polh₁ús
Ancient Greek πολῠ́ς (polŭ́s)lbor.
English poly-
Latin silex
Proto-Indo-European *-(i)yós
Proto-Italic *-ijos
Proto-Italic *-ios
Old Latin -ios
Latin -iusnom.
Latin -ium
New Latin siliciumlbor.
English silicium
English -on
English silicon
English polysilicon
From poly- + silicon.
Meanings
-
(not-comparable) Containing many silicon atoms, especially when linked into chains or networks.
Relateds
multi-carbon · multicarbon · polycrystalline · multicrystalline
polysilicon en · NOUN
Etymology
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *pleh₁-der.
Proto-Indo-European *polh₁ús
Ancient Greek πολῠ́ς (polŭ́s)lbor.
English poly-
Latin silex
Proto-Indo-European *-(i)yós
Proto-Italic *-ijos
Proto-Italic *-ios
Old Latin -ios
Latin -iusnom.
Latin -ium
New Latin siliciumlbor.
English silicium
English -on
English silicon
English polysilicon
From poly- + silicon.
Meanings
-
(uncountable) Polycrystalline silicon: A polycrystalline form of silicon used in some solid-state devices, especially solar cells.
Similarly Poly Engineering, an Italian maker of polysilicon—the key ingredient in solar panels—transferred key production knowhow to China's Daqo New Energy in 2008, helping China break the grip on polysilicon supply held by the US, Europe and Japan.
2026 January 13, Rachel Millard, Alice Hancock, Nic Fildes, “How the west fell behind in green tech”, in Financial Times, Big Read, page 15:
Relateds
polycarbon
wikidata: Q737038