Talk:Silex

The following text does not use the term "silex" in it's modern English sense.

The first known use of silex occurs during the Stone Age, it was used for the manufacture of flint tools as it splits into thin, sharp splinters called flakes or blades (depending on the shape) when struck by another hard object (such as a hammerstone made of another material).

Then in Ancient Rome it is used as a road surface: "Under Nerva and Trajan the Via Appia was repaired; one inscription records expressly the paving with silex (replacing the former gravelling) of the section from Tripontium, 4 miles (6 km) northwest, to Forum Appii".[1]

They should be moved to a section such as "archaic meanings". It should also be noted that the Romans did not use the Latin word "silex" to refer only to flint, but to any hard rock. --O crandell (talk) 14:07, 5 December 2011 (UTC)

Alien

Not that this has to be added but I came to this page because in the 1978 Alien script Silex was used as a term for a coffee grinder.

INT. GALLEY
Kane plugs in a Silex.
Lights a cigarette.
Coughs.
Grinds some coffee beans.
Runs some water through.

Is this just a 70s use of the word or was there an actual product called a Silex? Xenomorph erotica (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 21:14, 15 June 2017 (UTC)

Sorry to come across this years later, but in case you're still reading: Silex was a brand name for a coffee maker. See also Proctor Silex. 216.30.158.37 (talk) 19:13, 5 June 2024 (UTC)