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 William Chambers

Every geologist is aware how often silicified trees occur in volcanic tuffs, the perfect preservation of their internal structure showing that they have not decayed before the petrifying material was supplied.

From The Student's Elements of Geology by Sir Charles Lyell

Organic remains have sometimes suffered a singular transformation, as for 176 example, where shells, corals, and wood are silicified, their calcareous or ligneous matter having been replaced by nearly pure silica.

From Principles of Geology or, The Modern Changes of the Earth and its Inhabitants Considered as Illustrative of Geology by Sir Charles Lyell

Between the loam and the Tertiary formation there is usually a deposit of stratified sand and gravel, containing large fragments of silicified corals and the wreck of older Palaeozoic rocks.

From The Antiquity of Man by Sir Charles Lyell

Pieces of silicified wood were frequent in the bed of the Isaacs.

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 Ludwig Leichhardt

The Pliocene, on the other hand, is of freshwater origin, and contains silicified wood and numerous remains of Mammalia.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Part 4 "Bulgaria" to "Calgary" by Various