Editing Metalloid (section)

==Nomenclature and history==

===Derivation and other names===
Several names are sometimes used synonymously although some of these have other meanings that are not necessarily interchangeable: ''amphoteric element,''<ref>[[#Foster1936|Foster 1936, pp.&nbsp;212–13]]; [[#Brownlee1936|Brownlee et al. 1943, p.&nbsp;293]]</ref> ''boundary element,''<ref>[[#Calderazzo|Calderazzo, Ercoli & Natta 1968, p.&nbsp;257]]</ref> ''half-way element,''<ref>[[#Walters1982|Walters 1982, pp.&nbsp;32–33]]</ref> ''near metal,''<ref name=tyler>[[#Tyler1948|Tyler 1948, p.&nbsp;105]]</ref> ''meta-metal,''<ref>[[#Foster1958|Foster & Wrigley 1958, p.&nbsp;218]]: "The elements may be grouped into two classes: those that are ''metals'' and those that are ''nonmetals.'' There is also an intermediate group known variously as ''metalloids,'' ''meta-metals,'' ''semiconductors''."</ref> ''semiconductor,''<ref>[[#Slade2006|Slade 2006, p.&nbsp;16]]</ref> ''semimetal''<ref>[[#Corwin2005|Corwin 2005, p.&nbsp;80]]</ref> and ''submetal''.<ref>[[#Barsanov1974|Barsanov & Ginzburg 1974, p.&nbsp;330]]</ref> "Amphoteric element" is sometimes used more broadly to include transition metals capable of forming [[oxyanion]]s, such as chromium and [[manganese]].<ref>[[#Bradbury1957|Bradbury et al. 1957, pp.&nbsp;157, 659]]</ref> "Meta-metal" is sometimes used instead to refer to certain metals ([[beryllium|Be]], [[zinc|Zn]], [[cadmium|Cd]], [[mercury (element)|Hg]], [[indium|In]], [[thallium|Tl]], [[Tin#Physical properties|β-Sn]], [[lead|Pb]]) located just to the left of the metalloids on standard periodic tables.<ref name="Klemm">[[Metalloid#Klemm1950|Klemm 1950, pp.&nbsp;133–42]]; [[Metalloid#Reilly2004|Reilly 2004, p.&nbsp;4]]</ref> These metals tend to have distorted crystalline structures, electrical conductivity values at the lower end of those of metals, and amphoteric (weakly basic) oxides.<ref>[[#King2004|King 2004, pp.&nbsp;196–98]]; [[#Ferro2008|Ferro & Saccone 2008, p.&nbsp;233]]</ref> The names ''amphoteric element'' and ''semiconductor'' are problematic as some elements referred to as metalloids do not show marked amphoteric behaviour (bismuth, for example)<ref>[[#Lister|Lister 1965, p.&nbsp;54]]</ref> or semiconductivity (polonium)<ref name="Cotton FA 1999, p.502"/> in their most stable forms.

===Origin and usage===
{{Main|Origin and use of the term metalloid}}
The origin and usage of the term ''metalloid'' is convoluted. The name was popularized by [[Jöns Berzelius]] in the early 19th century, but he did not use it in the current meaning, but rather for a diverse group of nonmetal elements.<ref name="b729">{{cite book | last=Kragh | first=Emeritus Professor of History of Science Niels Bohr Institute Helge | title=The Names of Science | publisher=Oxford University Press | publication-place=Oxford | date=2024-10-04 | isbn=978-0-19-891745-8 | pages=225-226}}</ref> James Apjohn's "Manual of Metalloids" published in 1864 divided all elements into either metals or metalloids.<ref>Apjohn, J. (1864). Manual of the Metalloids. United Kingdom: Longman.</ref>{{rp|31}} Since the mid-20th century it has been used to refer to intermediate or borderline chemical elements.<ref name="ReferenceA">[[#Goldsmith1982|Goldsmith 1982, p.&nbsp;526]]</ref> The [[International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry]] (IUPAC) previously recommended abandoning the term metalloid, and suggested using the term ''semimetal'' instead.<ref>[[#Friend1953|Friend 1953, p.&nbsp;68]]; [[#IUPAC1959|IUPAC 1959, p.&nbsp;10]]; [[#IUPAC1971|IUPAC 1971, p.&nbsp;11]]</ref> Despite the recommendation, the term ''metalloid'' was increasingly used in the literature in 1970{{endash}}2010, while ''semimetal'' remained less popular.<ref name="b729"/> Use of the term ''semimetal'' has more recently been discouraged by Atkins et al.<ref name=Atkins2010p20>[[#Atkins2010|Atkins et al. 2010, p.&nbsp;20]]</ref> as it has a more common meaning that refers to the [[electronic band structure]] of a substance rather than the overall classification of an element. The most recent IUPAC publications on nomenclature and terminology do not include any recommendations on the usage of the terms metalloid or semimetal.<ref>[[#IUPAC2005|IUPAC 2005]]; [[#IUPAC2006|IUPAC 2006–]]</ref>