noun, particle ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   The rocks rich in silicon and aluminum that form the upper layer of the earth's crust, which lies beneath all continental landmasses. uncountable
2. 2
   Alternative form of sial. alt-of, alternative, uncountable
3. 3
   a clan in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent.
4. 4
   the granitelike rocks that form the outermost layer of the earth's crust; rich in silicon and aluminum wordnet

Particle

1. 1
   Alternative form of sia. Manglish, Singlish, alt-of, alternative

Etymology

Etymology 1

Coined by Eduard Suess in 1909, in Das Antlitz der Erde, as a blend of translingual Si (silicon) + Al (aluminum).

Etymology 2

From Malay sial.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.