Element 14 vs. a place.
Which meaning of Silicon is the original, and which one is the duplicate riding on its name? Silicon (element) came first (c. 1824). Silicon Valley arrived in 1971. The data below shows which one owns the word now.
Wikipedia pageviews since 2015
Silicon (element)Silicon Valley
English Wikipedia pageviews since July 2015 load here.
Duplicate's share of attention
Green line = duplicate's % · above 60 it owns the word · below 40 the original does
The case for each meaning
Sourced definitions, usage stats and quotes
Original · c. 1824
Silicon (element)
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Duplicate · c. 1971
Silicon Valley
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More duplicated terms
Hardware & devices
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