silane

[ sil-eyn ]

noun

, Chemistry.

1. Also called silicon tetrahydride. a gas with an unpleasant odor, SiH 4 , soluble in water: used as a doping agent for semiconductors in the production of solid-state devices.
2. any of a class of silicon hydrides analogous to the alkanes.

Word History and Origins

Origin of silane¹

< German Silan (1916); silicon, -ane

Example Sentences

Nam profecto aut metus aut injuria te subegit, Silane, consulem designatum, genus poenae novum decernere.

From Project Gutenberg