metalloid meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

metalloid

noun

/ˈmɛtəlɔɪd/

Etymology From metal + -oid.

Chemistry, Natural sciences, Physical sciences An element, such as silicon or germanium, intermediate in properties between that of a metal and a nonmetal; especially an elemental semiconductor.

Chemistry, Natural sciences, Physical sciences Obsolete The metallic base of a fixed alkali, or alkaline earth; applied to sodium, potassium, and some other metallic substances whose metallic character was supposed to be not well defined.

By some they [metals of the alkalies] were called metalloids; by some their simple nature was objected to1836, Sir Humphry Davy, Memoirs:

Chemistry, Natural sciences, Physical sciences Obsolete A nonmetal.

metalloid

adj

Etymology From metal + -oid.

Of or relating to the metalloids.

Informal Characteristic of the metal music genre.

Graham Massey of 808 State turns a Björkian moan into a vibrating siren and powers his strangely metalloid version of "Army Of Me" with it; the Brodsky String Quartet turns "Hyperballad" into a stately 3-D chess game.1997, CMJ New Music Monthly, number 43, page 12:
It expanded from bleary delay rippling with looped phrases to embrace molten metalloid raunch and blues grit, acoustic guitars and pedal steels.2004, Gene Santoro, Highway 61 Revisited: