The generic term for salts derived from silica or the silicic acids. They contain silicon, oxygen, and one or more metals, and may contain hydrogen. (From McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 4th Ed)
[L.] Compounds of silica with certain bases; e.g. all forms of clay, felspar, hornblende, mica, serpentine, etc., are compounds of this kind.
