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So given that there are multiple things that it has meant over time, the first statement that it can refer to "any of various various forms of ground stone" see

So given that there are multiple things that it has meant over time, the first statement that it can refer to "any of various various forms of ground stone" seems like a good summary. To claim it can only mean silicates, when two paragraphs later it says "Silex is now most commonly used to describe finely ground silicates", seems somewhat disingenuous. It's not "only used" but "most commonly used".

kragen 2y ago
your attack on my integrity is outrageous and utterly uncalled for; it's entirely possible to disagree with people without insulting them, and i suggest you learn how right now i don't think 'there are multiple things it has meant over time' is really correct, except in the sense that imperial roman mineralogy was entirely incapable of meaning things we mean today, because they lacked much of our conceptual framework. they didn't know the difference between basalt and flint, evidently, much as many people today don't know the difference between nylon and polyethylene and consequently mistakenly call their polyethylene shopping bags 'nylon'