metalloid

From metal +‎ -oid.

• IPA^(key): /ˈmɛtəlɔɪd/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

metalloid (plural metalloids)

1. (chemistry) An element, such as silicon or germanium, intermediate in properties between that of a metal and a nonmetal; especially an elemental semiconductor.
2. (chemistry, 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.
   • 1836, Sir Humphry Davy, Memoirs:

     By some they [metals of the alkalies] were called metalloids; by some their simple nature was objected to

3. (chemistry, obsolete) A nonmetal.

metalloid (comparative more metalloid, superlative most metalloid)

1. (not comparable) Of or relating to the metalloids.
2. (informal) Characteristic of the metal music genre.
   • 1997, CMJ New Music Monthly, number 43, page 12:

     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.

   • 2004, Gene Santoro, Highway 61 Revisited:

     It expanded from bleary delay rippling with looped phrases to embrace molten metalloid raunch and blues grit, acoustic guitars and pedal steels.