silicify

American  

[suh-lis-uh-fahy] / səˈlɪs əˌfaɪ /

verb (used with or without object)

silicified, silicifying

1. to convert or be converted into silica.

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silicify British  

/ sɪˈlɪsɪˌfaɪ /

verb

1. to convert or be converted into silica

   silicified wood

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Other Word Forms

• silicification
  noun
• unsilicified
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of silicify

First recorded in 1820–30; silic(a) + -ify

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

silicify silicified

This material, as is well known, is very liable to disintegrate, and the remedy is to silicify it.

From Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, No. 426 Volume 17, New Series, February 28, 1852 by Chambers, William

At some points the limestone has been dolomitized; near Bonsall it has been converted into a granular silicified rock.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 8, Slice 2 "Demijohn" to "Destructor" by Various

These specimens were, in general, silicified: but the outer parts came off in soft flakes resembling rotten bark, being equally pliant, although they felt gritty, like sand, between the teeth.

From Journal of an Expedition into the Interior of Tropical Australia by Mitchell, Thomas

Darwin found silicified trees on the same slope of the Andes as the Uspallata Pass.

From The Andes and the Amazon Across the Continent of South America by Orton, James

When we ascend the Rovuma about sixty miles, a great many pieces and blocks of silicified wood appear on the surface of the soil at the bottom of the slope up the plateaux.

From The Last Journals of David Livingstone, in Central Africa, from 1865 to His Death, Volume I (of 2), 1866-1868 by Waller, Horace

Fine-grained sandstone, with impressions of leaves, was again observed, and a few pieces of silicified wood.

From Journal of an Overland Expedition in Australia : from Moreton Bay to Port Essington, a distance of upwards of 3000 miles, during the years 1844-1845 by Leichhardt, Ludwig