Where does “Silicone Valley” come from?
Silicone Valley (English) comes from English silicone, from English Silicon, from English -ön, from English -one, from English ketone, from German Keton, from German Aketon, from French acétone — Forms adjectives from nouns, indicating the possession of a thing or a quality.
Silicone Valley (English): San Fernando Valley, in particular in reference to its large porn industry
Definitions
- San Fernando Valley, in particular in reference to its large porn industry
Ancestry of “Silicone Valley”, step by step
Silicone Valley traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English silicone
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | silicone | Any of a class of inert, semi-inorganic polymeric... |
| 2 | English | Silicon | A nonmetallic element (symbol Si) with an atomic number of 14 and atomic weight of 28.0855 |
| 3 | English | -ön | Forming nouns denoting subatomic particles and quanta |
| 4 | English | -one | a ketone; any similar compound containing a... |
| 5 | English | ketone | A homologous series of organic molecules whose... |
| 6 | German | Keton | ketone |
| 7 | German | Aketon | acetone |
| 8 | French | acétone | acetone |
| 9 | Latin | acētum | vinegar |
| 10 | French | -ate | ate |
| 11 | Latin | -ātus | ed |
| 12 | Proto-Italic | -ātos | — |
| 13 | Proto-Indo-European | -éh₂tos | Forms adjectives from nouns, indicating the possession of a thing or a quality |
via English Silicon Valley
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Silicon Valley | Originally, the region of the San Francisco Bay Area in which there were a high number of industries producing silicon chips; later extended to mean the entire concentration of high-tech businesses in this area |
| 2 | English | valley | An elongated depression between hills or... |
| 3 | Middle English | valeye | valley depression between hills |
| 4 | Old French | valee | valley |
| 5 | Old French | val | valley |
| 6 | Latin | vallis | valley, vale; hollow; dative plural of vāllum |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | wēlH- | to roll, to undulate |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | welH- | to turn, to wind |